


Sweet Burn

by sassysmith19 (sassysas19119)



Series: Sweet Love AU [3]
Category: Big Bang (Band), CROSS GENE, EXO (Band), GOT7, SHINee, Super Junior, VIXX, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Blood, Cross Gene - Freeform, Death, EXO - Freeform, Family tension, Fighting, GAY GAY GAY, GOT7 - Freeform, Gay, Gay Sex, Hunters, Hunters fighting vampires, M/M, SHINee - Freeform, Sex, Super Junior - Freeform, Swearing, Vampire Clans, Vampire Families, Vampires, Violence, Vixx - Freeform, YG, bigbang, bts - Freeform, families, lots of ships, sm, super lit, turning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 02:42:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 71,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9858407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassysas19119/pseuds/sassysmith19
Summary: "Sometimes blood isn't thicker than water, and family will cross you quicker than strangers."





	1. us

It had been too long, Leeteuk knew that. He had been busy, helping the hunters settle into life, life without support from the Lady, or the Association. Luhan had left him in charge, when he had left to meet with the Council, seeking an appeal. Leeteuk had heard by from him, a few times, but hadn’t heard enough to believe that anything would change. The vampires had offered, to house the hunters, but – after a number of lengthy meetings, between the hunters – there had been recognition of the fact that that scenario wouldn’t be comfortable for anyone. Zitao had been promoted to senior hunter, and had taken over the training program, in the town. Yifan had spent a lot of time at the vampire home, both with Joonmyun, and maintaining peaceful relations with the vampires.

There was still hesitation, knotted in Leeteuk’s stomach, when he knocked on the door to Heechul’s bedroom. He hadn’t seen any of the other vampires when he had arrived, so he had no idea whether or not Heechul was actually here, but that hadn’t stopped him. As it happened, he hadn’t needed to worry about Heechul being here. He had, however, forgotten to consider that Heechul might have been busy. With Hakyeon, of all vampires. “If this is a bad time, I can-”

“No, it’s fine.” Hakyeon got to his feet, exchanged a look with Heechul, and then started towards the door. “Heechul, I’ll be in touch.” He looked Leeteuk in the eyes, spoke quietly. “Have a good day.” Leeteuk didn’t breathe again until he heard the door shut behind him, and then he looked at Heechul, eyes wide.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that-”

Heechul kissed him, gently at first, then harder, when Leeteuk’s hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer. The vampire sucked gently on Leeteuk’s lower lip, before he pulled away, to look the hunter in the eyes. “I missed you.” His hands found Leeteuk’s waist, pulling him closer. “I missed you so much, princess.” Leeteuk hummed quietly, pressed a kiss to Heechul’s jaw. “Are the hunters alright? Has Luhan come back yet?”

“No. We haven’t…haven’t heard much from him. And the hunters are fine, it’s just…different. We’re still working on the self-sufficiency thing, but it’s coming along well.” Heechul nodded, nosed along Leeteuk’s hairline. “I missed you too. It’s been a long time. I’m sorry about that, I’m sorry I was so busy. I didn’t mean to…not visit, or anything, it just sort of happened.” Heechul laughed quietly, as Leeteuk pulled gently, guided him backwards. “Thank you for showing me, though. Everything you did, the last time you came to see me. That was…intense. But I’m glad I got to see it.”

“Does it help you understand?” Leeteuk nodded, fingers toying gently with the collar of Heechul’s shirt. “It didn’t explain everything, I know, it would take hundreds of years to do that, but it…I would hope that it explained what was important. I don’t want to feel like I’m lying to you, about my past, about Hakyeon.” Leeteuk’s fingers were quicker, now, at undoing the buttons on Heechul’s shirt, and he had them all open, the shirt pushed to the floor, before Heechul processed that he was doing it. “Are you sure-”

“Yes.” Leeteuk didn’t hesitate, kissed Heechul again, as his hands moved to the hem of his own shirt, and he tugged it over his head, tossing the article off to the side. “Did you apologize, to Ryeowook?” Heechul laughed quietly. “You broke his heart, Heechul, you’d better have apologized-”

“Of course I did, Leeteuk. He’s my brother, and I love him, and I apologized profusely, for everything. On my knees and everything.” Leeteuk laughed quietly, hands on Heechul’s belt. “How’s Jonginnie? He spends a lot of time with you hunters now.”

“Nope, just Kyungsoo.” Leeteuk pulled the belt free, then paused, the item in his hands. After a moment, he dropped it on the floor, pulled open the button on Heechul’s pants. “Stop talking about them, or any of that, please.” Heechul nodded, pressed a kiss to Leeteuk’s mouth, before he pushed the hunter back onto the bed, pinning him down. Leeteuk made a quiet noise, tried to pull his hands out of Heechul’s grip, to no avail. “Wait.” Heechul pulled back, and Leetuek sat up, twisted his hands to he could grab Heechul’s wrist, and he pulled, guided him closer, pressed him back against the headboard. “This time, it’s not about the power. It’s not about you being a vampire, or me being a hunter, or any of that. It’s about you, and me, and us.” Heechul nodded, wordlessly, hands resting on Leeteuk’s hips. After a moment, the hunter reached down, undid his own belt, slid it free. He handed it to Heechul, one eyebrow raised, and then held out his wrists, a silent offer.

Heechul hesitated. “No. I don’t want you like that. I don’t want you bound, trapped.” Leeteuk cocked his head to the side in thought, and then nodded, dropped the belt off the side of the bed, and rolled his hips down, pulling a gasp from Heechul’s lips. “You’re like a bird, Leeteuk; you aren’t meant to be caged, you’re meant to be able to fly free.” Leeteuk smiled at him, pressed a lingering kiss to his mouth, and then reached down, to push his pants down, Heechul’s following quickly after. “You’re beautiful. My beautiful princess.” Leeteuk kissed him again, coaxed his mouth open with his fingers. “So beautiful.” Leeteuk’s fingers trailed down his chest, resting on his stomach. “I love you.” Leeteuk blushed, looked away. “I mean it, Leeteuk. You’re beautiful, and perfect, and I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.” Heechul laughed quietly, leaned up to kiss Leeteuk. “It’s so much more real, when you say it out loud, especially…well, when you really mean it.” Leeteuk smiled, then reached back to touch Heechul’s cock, pulling a gasp from the vampire. “Ah, you’re so perfect.” Carefully, gentle, slow, Leeteuk sat back on the vampire’s cock. “Did you…in the name of all that’s holy, you planned this.” Leeteuk giggled, kissed Heechul on the mouth, sloppy, before he pulled back. “You planned this, you bastard.”

“Well, not all of it. This part, yes.” Leeteuk started to move, then, and Heechul let his hands rest on Leeteuk’s hips, a gentle guide. He smirked when Leeteuk hit that particular spot inside, and arched backwards, a soft, broken whine leaving his lips. Leeteuk’s hands wound into his hair, tipped Heechul’s head backwards so Leeteuk could lean forward to mouth at the underside of his jaw. “Will you bite me?”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” After a moment, Heechul sat up, one hand tipping Leeteuk’s head backwards, exposing his neck. “I love you.”

“I love you, so much.”

After those words left Leetuek’s lips, Heechul bit down, allowed his fangs to sink through Leeteuk’s skin, and into his throat, drawing blood. The hunter stiffened, and then relaxed, leaned heavily against Heechul, as he came, clinging tightly to Heechul. The vampire smiled to himself, as he thrust upwards, following Leeteuk’s lead. He released Leeteuk’s neck, and mouthed gently at the wound, before he pulled back, leaned backwards. Leeteuk curled around him, breathing hard, smiling. “That was…”

“What you wanted?”

“And more.” Leeteuk mouthed gently at Heechul’s neck, then up onto his face, pressed three gentle kisses to his mouth. “You’re everything I need, and everything I want. I love you. So much. I’ve loved you since…well, since the first time, I think. Somewhere, deep inside, I knew I loved you. It just took me a while to admit it to myself.” Heechul smiled, nibbled at Leeteuk’s ear. “How…how do I taste? To you?”

Heechul curled his hands around Leeteuk’s waist, stroked the skin on his back gently. “It’s hard to explain, to a human. I…let me show you.” He held up his hand, and Leeteuk took it, allowing the feeling to wash over his mind. When he pulled away, his eyes were wide. “You’re the best blood I’ve ever had. Best ass, too. Best human. Best ever.” Leeteuk grinned, leaned down to kiss Heechul again, before he pulled back. “Ah. You…your phone is buzzing.” Leeteuk sighed, slid off the bed, and grabbed his phone from the pocket of his jeans.

“Luhan?”

“ _I just got out of a Council meeting. They…they’ve made a decision_.” He paused, and Leeteuk heard him take a shaky breath. “ _They’ve agreed to repeal the Lady’s decision, and reinstate us all as Association hunters. They recognized that not only did we not violate the code, but that the actions she took regarding both your kidnapping, and Han Geng’s, were out of line. They don’t necessarily endorse us having vampire mates, but they won’t condemn anyone for it either. And…well, I think they’re going to remove the Lady from power_.”

Leeteuk let out a sigh of relief. “When will you be home?”

“ _Tonight. Minseok came to get me_.”

“Alright. Thank you, Luhan.” A quiet word of recognition, from Luhan, and then they both hung up. Heechul had gotten to his feet, and come to stand behind Leeteuk, nuzzling gently at his neck. “It’s alright. We’ll be alright.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you.”

***

Stakes were interesting tools.

Luhan had been using one for years, and he had always appreciated what they did, but now, now he really appreciated, for one the fact that they killed vampires, and two, the fact that he now had access to every stake that the Association provided its hunters. And three, perhaps, that he had one – or, well, five – with him right now.

Almost as soon as he and Minseok had left the Council building, a hoard of vampires had converged on them, fangs glistening in the moonlight. Luhan had tossed a stake to Minseok, and then gotten to work. Before long, all of the vampires had dropped to the ground, and Luhan had only lost one stake, when a vampire had snapped it in half. That particular vamp had suffered, a stake buried in his stomach before Luhan had finally killed him.

“I’ve never seen you in action.” It sounded like an errant comment to Luhan, but to Minseok, it must have meant something. He pressed a kiss to the hunter’s mouth, handed him the stake back. “You’re very pretty, when you’re fighting. But,” He looked around. “I don’t think I’d ever want you to be fighting me.” Luhan smiled at him, then took his hand. “Let’s get you home.”

***

Kyungsoo’s grip on Jongin’s wrists tightened when he heard someone knock on the door, but he didn’t push the vampire away. “Who is it?” His words were slightly slurred, he realized that in the back of his mind.

“It’s me.” Kyungsoo sighed quietly, sucked gently at Jongin’s ear. “Can I come in?”

“Are you going to give me shit about letting my mate feed on me?”

A long silence, a hesitant answer. “No.”

“Then come in.” After a moment, the door opened, and Jongin pulled backwards, releasing Kyungsoo. “Good evening, Baekhyun. Couldn’t find anyone else to bother today?” Baekhyun snorted, didn’t answer. “What do you want?”

“Luhan’s home. He wants to meet with everyone tomorrow, but he wants to see you tonight.” Baekhyun paused, awkward. “Should I just tell him that you’re…you’re occupied? Or is there some other valid excuse that you’d like me to give?” That second part came out nasty and venomous, and Kyungsoo didn’t like it. He didn’t say anything, for a few moments, before he looked Baekhyun dead in the eyes. “Right. I’ll just…you’re busy. I’ll make sure he knows.” Without another word, he fled the room, leaving the pair alone.

Kyungsoo sighed quietly, leaned heavily against the vampire in front of him, tipped his head back again, and Jongin leaned forward, to bite down once more. Kyungsoo let out a quiet noise, hands sliding underneath Jongin’s shirt, playing absently with the fabric. “I love you. I love you s-so much.” His words were more slurred, than before, and he stumbled over his sentence. “I love you.”

***

“You were attacked?” Luhan nodded, didn’t look up from the stack of paperwork in front of him. Seunghyun knew he was frustrated, not only with having to go all the way to the Council, for over a month, but then also to come back, and have three huge deadlines hovering over his head. “By _who_?” Luhan shrugged, jerked his chin towards Minseok, as if to say _ask him, he’s not the one trying to keep our hunters intact_.

“By the looks of their clothes, street urchin vampires. But their fighting style…they weren’t entirely untrained, when it came to fighting hunters, which has me concerned. Someone trained them, but they aren’t part of a family, a clan, anything.” Minseok shot a look at Luhan, and then looked at Seunghyun again. “Luhan has a theory. He…he thinks that the Lady, or someone who works for her, trained them. It makes sense; nobody honestly believed that he would back down willingly from this fight, despite what he said. She was expecting him to go to the Council, but it would look suspicious if he died on his way there. And if her personal guard was caught…she’d have nothing. The solution was simple – find someone else who’s willing to do it, but is also easy to blame. Vampires, of course. If they had gotten caught, they were just street urchins that no one cared about, easy to dispose of. If they weren’t, Luhan was dead, and the Lady would kill them herself.” He paused. “They didn’t consider that Luhan would have more weapons when he left, and that he would have a vampire at his side. Their mistake, and they paid the price for it.”

Luhan finally looked up. “I don’t think I’m wrong. I spent two years training with the Lady’s personal guard, I know their style, I know how to fight it, and those vampires had definitely been trained to fight the Guard. Unfortunately for them, I think the Guard’s fighting style is stupid, unrefined, and useless.” He scoffed, looked back at the paperwork in front of him, mouth creasing with distaste. “Seunghyun, could you go collect Zitao and Yifan for me? Baekhyun’s already gone to grab Seungri and Kyungsoo.” Seunghyun nodded, and stepped out of the office, leaving Luhan and Minseok alone. “Thoughts?”

“I don’t disagree with your idea, Luhan, you know that. It makes sense. But you have to be able to prove it. You know there isn’t another viable option for Lady right now, you know that alone will be enough to keep the Council from picking someone else. And we don’t have solid proof that any of this happened, all we have is what we can tell people.” Luhan sighed quietly, put his head in his hands. “I know. And I wish I could get them to let me show them that it happened, but they’d never let me, they’d never even let me in the room.”

Luhan looked up quickly when Zitao entered the room, followed closely by Yifan and Seungri and Seunghyun. “Where’s Kyungsoo?”

Baekhyun poked his head into the office. “He’s busy. With Jongin.”

Luhan sighed again, then rose to his feet. “Fine. Yifan, catch him up later.” A quick nod, and then Luhan spoke again. “As you’re all aware, the Council has decided to overturn the Lady’s decision, and reinstate us as Association hunters. However, it’s also fairly obvious to assume that she doesn’t approve of this. As you may or may not know, there is talk that the Lady will be removed from power, but there isn’t really another option, which would mean that the Council will either leave her in power, or they’ll remove her, and then wait for another candidate to be elected next year. This would leave the Association wide open for anarchy.”

“Why are you telling us?”

Luhan looked at Seungri. “You know damn well why.” Seungri looked away, thoroughly cowed. “I would hope that you’re all aware of the process that goes into becoming the Lady, and how the next-in-line is chosen. It will be our region’s responsibility, in this coming election cycle, to provide a candidate for the role.” Yifan opened his mouth to say something, but Luhan cut him off. “I’m more than aware of the fact that at the moment, we don’t have any female hunters. However, we have more than a year to find one, or, preferably, more than one. Regardless of how many, we have to find them. We cannot break this tradition. No one knows what happens if a candidate for the position isn’t put forward; it could very well destroy the entirety of the Association.” He paused, looked around at them. “Just think on it. I’ll let you know if things change. And gods, if you find someone who fits the description, recruit the hell out of them, do you understand?”

***

“I’ll assume you heard what Leeteuk asked Heechul to do.” Siwon looked up quickly when he heard Seunghyun speak, reached over to yank Minho’s earbuds free. The pair looked at Seunghyun for a long moment, before Siwon shook his head. Seunghyun sighed quietly, ran a hand through his hair. “Leeteuk made me swear that I wouldn’t tell anyone, but…well, I think it’s in not only his best interests, but also the entire team’s best interests, if they know.” Minho opened his mouth to say something, but Seunghyun cut him off. “And I would tell you that you didn’t hear it from me, but I’m the only one that he’s told.” He bit his lip, looked away for a moment, before he spoke again. “He’s been speaking extensively with both Han Geng and Jiyong about what it’s like to turn. And…well, the other day, he went to Heechul. And asked-”

“If Heechul would still love him if he asked to turn.” Seunghyun nodded, looked away quickly. “I’m assuming Heechul promised to love him no matter what, and, with that affirmation, Leeteuk asked the actual question.”

“No.” Seunghyun sighed again, lips pressed together in distress. “He didn’t. He walked away, but he’ll ask eventually. When he gets up the courage. But Heechul already knows that he’s going to. And I don’t know if he’ll do it.” They all looked up when they heard a knock at the door. It was Zitao, looking more hesitant than ever to be interrupting the group of senior hunters. “What is it, Zitao?”

“If it matters, Heechul told me.” Seunghyun raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think he’ll be able to do it. He wants Leeteuk to enjoy his human life, his hunter life. He knows how painful it is to turn, and he knows how it can destroy relationships just as easily as it can help them. I don’t think he wants Leeteuk to be a vampire, at all, ever. He likes his human, and he likes him human. But if Leeteuk really wants…there isn’t a lot he wouldn’t do for Leeteuk.” Zitao looked away quickly, but then met Seunghyun’s gaze again. “And he does love him. If Leeteuk wanting to turn means that he’s gotten over his disgust towards vampires, of course that makes Heechul happy. It also means, on some level, that Leeteuk wants Heechul now and forever.”

“Why the hell did Heechul tell _you_?”

Zitao sucked in a sharp breath, looked hesitant to answer, so Minho answered for him. “Obviously Zitao’s spoken to Heechul about being in the same situation that Leeteuk has found himself in, or one very similar.” Zitao looked away, face flushed, looking rather angry that Minho had outed him so flippantly. “That’s it, isn’t it? You’ve asked Heechul about turning. You want Sehun to turn you.”

“Wouldn’t you?” Zitao snapped, eyes finding Minho’s gaze. “If it meant staying with Taemin forever, wouldn’t you want to turn?” Minho shook his head, jaw clenched, stubborn. Zitao sniffed delicately. “Fine. Maybe _you_ wouldn’t.”

Siwon reached out to stop Minho, but before he could get there, Minho had pinned Zitao to the wall. “What the _hell_ is that supposed to mean?” Zitao didn’t answer. “Are you implying that I don’t love my boyfriend? Are you saying that you love Sehun more than I love Taemin? Is that what I’m hearing you say to me?” Seunghyun grabbed one of Minho’s forearms, and Siwon had the other quickly. They pulled him off of Zitao, but didn’t say anything to him. “You have no idea what my family has been through, you have no idea how much pain we have suffered at the hands of vampires, you have no _right_ to judge me for not wanting to become a _monster_ -”

“Siwon wants to turn too.”

Minho whipped around, pulled out of Siwon’s grip, faster than Seunghyun would have thought possible. “What?” Siwon didn’t say anything. “Are you fucking serious?” Siwon held still, and then nodded, slowly. Minho yanked his arm out of Seunghyun’s grip, gazed at Siwon for a long moment, before he shoved past him, stormed out of the room.

Siwon moved to follow him, but Seunghyun grabbed his arm. “No. Let him go. Give him time.” He pulled Siwon backwards. “He’ll find you when he’s ready. But you need to give him time to come to terms with this.” Seunghyun looked at Zitao. “Go.” Zitao slipped out of the room, and Seunghyun looked at Siwon again. “This will be hard for him, for all of us. I don’t disagree with your reasoning, and I understand everything that you’re doing, and why. But you know how much he’s struggled, with vampires, in the past. He’ll come around, Siwon, but it’ll take some time. Just let him think.”


	2. fight

Kibum was startled awake when someone knocked on his window. He nearly fell of the bed in his surprise, catching himself moments before it happened, head whipping around to find the source of the noise. It was Youngbae, seated on the ledge outside of the window, hands braced on either side. “What in the _hell_ are you doing here?” Youngbae smiled, raised a finger to his lips, made a motion that Kibum vaguely realized meant _open up_. Reluctantly, Kibum got to his feet, ran a hand through his hair, and walked towards the window. “You’re insatiable, you stupid, _stupid_ vampire.” He pushed the window open, and Youngbae leaned closer, their noses an inch apart. “Why are you here?”

“I have something to show you.” He put out one hand, and Kibum hesitantly took it, allowed Youngbae to pull him closer. “Please?” After a moment, Kibum nodded slowly. Youngbae smiled. “Meet me out front.” At Kibum’s nod, Youngbae released him, leaned backwards, dropped out of sight. Kibum sighed quietly, closed the window, and made his way towards the door, pulling on a jacket as he walked. As soon as he stepped outside, Youngbae appeared at his side, took Kibum’s hand. “It’ll be fun, I promise.”

“It better be, you stupid vampire.” Kibum put an arm around Youngbae’s waist, pressed his face into the vampire’s shoulder. After a moment, Youngbae pulled off his scarf, and wrapped it around Kibum’s neck, pressed a lingering kiss to his forehead. Kibum froze, eyes wide, and Youngbae bit his lip. “Don’t.” Youngbae opened his mouth to speak, but Kibum cut him off. “We’ve talked about this. About us. You know I’m not…ready. For that.” Youngbae nodded slowly, not meeting Kibum’s eye. “I will tell you, you know, when I’m ready for that. But please, please, Youngbae, don’t push me. I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m sorry.” Kibum didn’t respond, simply adjusted his grip on Youngbae’s hand, and continued walking. He didn’t mention it again, didn’t speak at all until Youngbae led him into Heechul’s home, down a long hallway, and into the library. “You remember when you were here, after that fiasco at Hakyeon’s?” Kibum nodded once, as Youngbae backed away from him, towards a shelf. “And you were looking for that book, the one Jonghyun had recommended for you, but you couldn’t find it in town, and you didn’t find one here?”

“ _Desire Without Faith_ , yes, I remember. What about it?”

Youngbae picked up a book from the shelf. “Well, I found it. Heechul had it in his room, that’s why it wasn’t in here, even though I could have sworn we had a copy.” He handed it to Kibum, who looked absolutely speechless. He took the book out of Youngbae’s hand, smiled at the vampire. After a silent moment, he set it down, put his arms around Youngbae’s waist.

“Thank you.” Youngbae smiled, and Kibum’s fingers fisted in his shirt, clinging. “But really, couldn’t this have waited until morning? Was it really necessary for you to wake me up to tell me this?”

“This, no. But I wanted to show you something else too.” Youngbae’s hands traced over Kibum’s arms, and down onto his palms. “Will you let me show you?” Kibum almost said the first thing that popped into his head, but he bit down the retort. He knew Youngbae couldn’t see into his head, even though they were touching. He had taken certain…precautions, back when he was new to this, back before he had met any of the other hunters, back before the Academy had even been a thing, back when Heechul had still been… _human_. “Kibum, please. Let me show you. Let me in.”

Kibum pulled away, ripped his hands out of Youngbae’s grip. “You know why you can’t see anything? Why you can’t feel anything? You understand?” Youngbae nodded. “You know what I’ve done?” Another nod. Youngbae looked worried, scared of what Kibum was getting at. “Do you know why?” A long silence, and then Youngbae shook his head. “You’d do well to remember who my brother is, and what he’s done. He isn’t the saint that he would like to think that he is. He’s a monster, Youngbae. He tried to kill me, he tried to rip me apart from the inside out. I did what I had to, to protect myself, to protect Jonghyun.” Youngbae’s lower lip trembling, and he stepped away. “And I hate myself, for having to do it, because it hurts me, every day, and it hurts Jonghyun, but what else could I have done? And now, knowing that I could very well be kidnapped at any moment, like what happened with Leeteuk and Han Geng…forgive me if I don’t trust you.”

“Kibum-”

“Stop.” Youngbae snapped his mouth shut. “I have lived five hundred years. With him. I know him, better than anyone, better than even Jonghyun does, better than Hakyeon, better than Leeteuk, better than any of his siblings or his children or his friends or his enemies. I know what he’s done, I know how he thinks, and I know that it won’t be long before something happens again.” Youngbae opened his mouth to speak, but Kibum silenced him. “When he tried to kill me, the first time, I went to the hunters. The Lady did a spell – it’s completely illegal now, don’t ask me about it – and bound my life, and Jonghyun’s life, and Heechul’s life, together. We will not die, until one of the others dies. If I die, so does Heechul, so does Jonghyun. That is his punishment – he has to live, knowing that not only are we suffering because of what he did, that he has to live with the knowledge that he hurt us, and that we have to suffer that every day; but also that if he dies, he takes both of us with him, which wasn’t a problem a hundred years ago, but now, now he has to worry about the pain of his own mate, and also the pain of Jinki and…and you.”

***

“Tell me something.” Minho hummed quietly, when he heard Taemin speak, and reached back to take the vampire’s hand. “Why’d you decide to stay, this time?” Minho sighed, pressed his face into the pillow, eyes closed. “Usually you leave, or you tell me to leave. I can count on one hand how many times you’ve stayed, and this makes two, Minho. The other one was the first time, and then you stopped staying. So what changed?” Minho didn’t speak, didn’t move outside of pressing his mouth to the back of Taemin’s hand. “ _Minho_ -”

“Did you know, about the hunters? About Leeteuk and Zitao and…and Siwon?” Taemin sighed softly, and Minho felt the air move across the back of his neck. “I see.” He released Taemin’s hand, a clear indication that Taemin should stop, and not say whatever he was about to.

Of course, Taemin wasn’t very good at doing what Minho asked. “It wasn’t my place, to tell you. Heechul and Sehun made me promise not to tell. Siwon threatened to cut off my dick if I told you. You can understand my hesitation.” Taemin nosed into Minho’s hair, hand pressed against the hunter’s hip. “Wait, how did _you_ find out?” Minho didn’t answer, but Taemin could see it well enough, in his mind. “Dammit, Seunghyun.” Taemin let out a quiet noise of distaste. “He overheard my conversation with Heechul. He swore he wouldn’t say anything, but I should have known better. I should have…fuck.” Almost instantaneously, Minho turned, pressed Taemin down into the mattress, a stormy look on his face. “I’m sorry.”

“You knew? For how long? How long has this been going on?”

Taemin bit his lip, and then spoke, voice soft. “Zitao, about three months. Leeteuk, a week. Siwon…since Han Geng was turned. I saw it in his head, way back then. He was visiting, and he bumped into me in the hallway. My hand brushed his wrist, and I saw everything. That was when he threatened me, Minho, he made me swear I wouldn’t say anything, I’m sorry.” Taemin looked away, and Minho grabbed his jaw, met his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Clearly.” Minho sniffed, and climbed off of Taemin, slipped off the bed. He pulled pants over his legs, tugged on a shirt that Taemin vaguely realized was his. “I’ll see you around. Maybe.” Without another word to the vampire, he walked out of the room, leaving Taemin alone on the bed. Taemin whined quietly, pressed his face into the pillow, inhaled long and deep, before he felt tears pricking at the backs of his eyes. He swore quietly under his breath, fingers fisting in the sheets.

After a few minutes, someone knocked on the door. Taemin didn’t answer, but whoever was out there stepped inside anyways. It was Han Geng, followed closely by Heechul, looking more protective than ever. Han Geng crawled up onto the bed beside Taemin, put a hand on his arm, and then curled up against his side, sniffed quietly. “Siwon should have told him. _I_ should have told him. They…they’re brothers, I don’t want them to be angry with each other.” A long silence. “I’ll talk to Siwon. He’s angry, at Minho, but I think he’ll try, if I talk to him.” Taemin could tell that Han Geng was close to tears, his voice wavering. Heechul hadn’t spoken, but Taemin felt it when he moved to sit beside Han Geng, a warning hand on his shoulder. “I won’t hurt anyone, Heechul.” Heechul didn’t speak, his answer obvious in the way his grip tightened. “You know I’ve gotten better. And it’s Taemin. He’s a vampire, he doesn’t have a heartbeat, he’s nowhere near as appealing as a human.”

“Wow, that makes me feel so much better about leaving you alone with Siwon. Or any of them, really.”

“They’re hunters. They can take care of themselves.” Heechul shot a look at Taemin, when he spoke, one that clearly said _not helping_ , but Taemin ignored him. “Besides, Han Geng is – and you’ve said it yourself – so much better at this than any of your others have ever been, me included. Which is a little insulting, by the way, but nonetheless, it’s true. Han Geng is the best. He’s fed off of Siwon before, and nothing happened; it’s been months since then, Han Geng has only gotten better. He doesn’t want to hurt him.”

“Not wanting to hurt someone has rarely stopped a vampire.”

“And you know what, being told that we can’t kill humans hasn’t stopped us very often either.” Heechul sighed quietly. “So, you and Leeteuk.” Heechul ran a hand through his hair, sighed again. “You know what he wants from you, even though he hasn’t asked.” Heechul nodded. “Are you going to go through with what he wants? Would you turn him, if he asked?”

“I…” Heechul hesitated, looked quickly at Han Geng. “I think so. But…I don’t think he will, not anytime soon, anyways. He likes being human, he likes hunting, and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He…he also feels responsible, for protecting the hunters, and he can’t do that if he’s…well, out of his mind with blood-lust. He’ll take his time, to prepare himself for it, before he asks, but once he does…once he asks, he’ll want it over with.” Taemin smiled up at Heechul, a look in his eye that made Heechul look away. “I could be completely wrong, but I don’t think I am. I’d like to think that I have a good sense of his mentality, by now.”

Taemin grinned, face smoothing back into neutrality when a hunter appeared in the doorway. It was Leeteuk, looking more fired up than ever, and _gods_ , Taemin feared for Heechul’s life, right about now. “Good evening, Leeteuk.” The hunter jerked his chin in acknowledgement, but didn’t otherwise speak, his glare pinned on Heechul. “Is there something we can do for you?”

That seemed to be the magic words, for Leeteuk strode forward, came to a halt in front of Heechul, arms crossed over his chest. “We’ve talked about this.” Heechul nodded, not meeting Leeteuk’s eyes. “Well, clearly you _don’t_ understand. If you did, Heechul, would you really have left me? You _know_ that I hate that.” Heechul climbed off of the bed, stepped towards Leeteuk. He slipped his hands underneath Leeteuk’s elbows, pulled him forward, but Leeteuk didn’t budge, kept his glare pinned on Heechul. “Come back to bed.” Heechul looked like he wanted to argue. “ _Now_ , Heechul, or I’ll go home.”

“I…fine.” Heechul leaned forward, pressed a kiss to Leeteuk’s forehead, before he released him, shot an apologetic glance at Taemin, before he reached back, grabbed Han Geng. “You, bed, now.” Han Geng whined, but obeyed, slipped out of the room. “Taemin…it’ll work out.” Without another word, he took Leeteuk’s hand, and allowed the hunter to pull him out of the room.


	3. black or white

It had taken Heechul an hour to find Ryeowook; to sift through the piles of passed out vampires at each of the feeding establishments in town, looking for his brother, and when he had found him, he had snarled, snagged Ryeowook by his upper arm, only to find that he had convinced Donghae to come with him. Without much ceremony, he had dragged the pair home, ignoring their soft whines and quiet pleas. He had deposited them on the living room floor, and then paced away quickly, shaking with his anger. “Are you…are you actually out of your fucking minds? Have I taught you _nothing_?” Donghae whimpered, curled closer to Ryeowook, who was gazing up at Heechul, unfocused. “Ryeowook, I thought you were done with this! I thought you promised to be careful, after Joonmyun turned. You promised you wouldn’t go out feeding off of random people again.” Ryeowook let out a quiet keening noise, and Heechul turned on his heel. “And _Donghae_ , I thought you knew better. Do you understand how dangerous it is, going out to these places, without telling anyone where you are? You could have been killed! I know that you think that you’re perfectly safe here, but there are rogue hunters, rogue vampires, who would gladly have you killed. I should call Eunhyuk and Yesung, and have them come over here, and tell them what you’ve done, and see how they react to it!”

“ _No_ , Heechul, don’t, please, don’t wanna-”

“It’s a little late for that, Donghae.” Eunhyuk walked forward, pushed past Heechul, and knelt down beside Donghae. The vampire whined quietly, pushed himself gracelessly into a seated position, pressed himself against Eunhyuk, who didn’t budge. “Which one?” Donghae whined quietly, pressed his face against Eunhyuk’s shoulder. “Hey, no, look at me.” His fingers tangled in Donghae’s hair, and he yanked the vampire backwards, their eyes meeting. “Which one?” From the way Donghae straightened, Heechul was very nearly convinced that Eunhyuk carried the same power of compulsion as vampires.

“V-Victoria.”

Eunhyuk sighed heavily, released Donghae. “We talked about this.” Donghae whimpered, nosed along Eunhyuk’s collarbone. “Didn’t we?” Donghae nodded quickly, fingers playing idly with the buttons on Eunhyuk’s shirt. “And we agreed that you wouldn’t see her anymore. We agreed that you would see Tiffany, or Jessica, but not any of the others. We had a _deal_ , Donghae, about your feeding.” Donghae made a quiet sobbing noise, and Heechul moved to pull Ryeowook to his feet, grip tight on his brother’s elbow. “How am I supposed to trust you to feed on me, if I can’t trust you with this?”

Donghae outright sobbed that time, clinging to Eunhyuk. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll be better, I promise, I’ll be good, it won’t happen again, I’m _sorry_ , don’t be mad-”

Eunhyuk yanked Donghae to his feet, and the vampire whined, pressing closer, the plea in his voice desperate and needy. Heechul admired the control he had over Donghae; it was beautiful, natural, lovely to watch. “Look me in the eyes.” Donghae was quick to obey, still whimpering quietly. “Now listen closely.” A quick nod. “You’re going to go to your room, and you’re going to sleep. When you are no longer drunk, you’re going to come find me, and we’re going to talk. Do you understand me?” Donghae nodded, whatever he had wanted to say lost when Eunhyuk spoke again. “And if I ever, _ever_ find out that you’ve gone and fed off of that _bitch_ , or any of the other ones that we agreed you wouldn’t see anymore, I will end you, am I clear?”

“Yes.” Donghae whispered the word, trembling. “Yes, I understand, I’ll be good.” Eunhyuk released him, and he scrambled away. When Eunhyuk turned, he caught Heechul’s eye, and the vampire raised a silent eyebrow.

“I know he’s safe, if he’s with Tiff or Jess, but the others…they don’t care. When they get a vamp drunk, they abandon them, in a room with other vamps, no protection whatsoever. It’s easy, for a hunter or a vampire to come in, unnoticed, unhindered. And with what happened to Luhan…I can’t risk him getting hurt. Tiffany and Jessica…well, they operate out of their home, so you have to be invited in if you’re a vampire, and they have good bodyguards working for them. I trust them to take care of him, when he drops. But not…not Victoria, and not the others who work with her.” Heechul nodded slowly. “I’ll be leaving, now.”

He turned to walk away, and had gotten about halfway to the door when Heechul spoke. “How do you keep him under control?” Eunhyuk turned, grinning. “You’ve got a good handle on him. How?”

“Hoping you can practice on Leeteuk? It won’t work; he and Donghae are completely different. Besides, Leeteuk would bite your dick off before he’d let you do what I’ve done to Donghae.” Heechul shot him a critical look. “Oh, no, I haven’t hurt him, you have my word. That wouldn’t work either, he’d heal right up. No, I’ve broken him down, seen everything he has to show, and, most importantly, I’ve shown him that he can trust me, that I won’t hurt him, that I want to help, and surprisingly enough, he’s actually let me do that.” Eunhyuk walked backwards, towards the door. “Leeteuk loves you, you know. He adores you. Doesn’t shut up about you, really. It’s adorable. I hope you remember that, Heechul, the next time you try to make a power play against the hunters. Like I said, Leeteuk’ll bite your dick off.”

***

Zitao was used to waking up with Sehun’s arm thrown around his waist, but he wasn’t quite used to finding the vampire sleeping on top of him, breathing softly in his ear. None too gracefully, he squirmed his way out from underneath Sehun, and climbed off of the bed, pulling a soft whine from the vampire’s lips as he reached out to try and pull Zitao back. “I’m sorry. Yifan and I are patrolling this morning, I have to go.” Sehun whined again, stubborn, but didn’t argue. Zitao smiled at him, reached for the pair of pants that had been through over the back of Sehun’s chair. “I’ll be back this afternoon, after class is over. I promise.” Sehun huffed, pushed himself into a seated position.

“Yifan can go by himself, can’t he?” Zitao sighed, shook his head quickly. “But we were _sleeping_ -”

“And I have no doubt that you will continue to sleep whilst I’m at work, Sehun. You realize, I hope, that we’ve been together for more than two years now, and that this is how our relationship has worked since day one. We fuck, we sleep, I leave.” Sehun whined once more, this one sounding far more petulant, but he cut off when Zitao grabbed his lower lip, and tugged, pulling Sehun forward. “It’ll be different, you know. Within the next few months, this will change, and I’ll be able to stay. But right now, Sehun, I have responsibilities, people who are depending on me, and I will not let them down. Just like you wouldn’t let Heechul down if he asked for your help. So please, _please_ trust me when I say that I will be back as soon as I can, and that I love you.” After a moment, Sehun nodded, and Zitao pressed a kiss to his mouth. “I love you.” He stepped backwards, released Sehun, and grabbed his jacket. “I’ll be home soon. Go to sleep.”

Zitao left the house quickly, got back to headquarters as soon as he could, and found Yifan waiting for him, speaking quietly to Minho. The younger hunter looked furious, and he was gesturing angrily at Yifan. Yifan looked up quickly when Zitao approached, and Minho stopped quickly, snapped his mouth shut. “You’re talking about Siwon, aren’t you? And me?” Minho’s jaw clenched angrily, and didn’t comment. “It’s none of your business, Minho, what we do. You’re not my mother, and frankly, if you were, I still wouldn’t listen.” Minho huffed. “You sound like Sehun when you do that, and when he does it, he sounds like a petulant child. I am sorry that Siwom didn’t tell you, but he is entitled to do whatever the fuck he wants with his boyfriend. I understand that you don’t like vampires, but I also think you need to remember that they aren’t all evil. You know Heechul won’t hurt us, you know he and Han Geng will take good care of Siwon, when it…happens.”

Minho didn’t respond, and Zitao grabbed Yifan’s arm, pulled him away. “Come on. We have a job to do.”

“Does Luhan know? About you and Siwon?” Zitao didn’t answer, kept walking. “Zitao, you know that you need to tell him, and you know that it won’t do any good to tell him the day before it happens, or, gods forbid, the day after. You and Siwon both know that. You have to tell him. It’ll make it so much easier, on us, if you tell him yourself. And you know that if you don’t, someone else will, and I’m almost certain that you’d rather he get the story from you than from Minho.”

“I don’t see how it’s any of your business, Yifan, but thank you.”

Yifan grabbed Zitao’s arm, pulled him to a halt. “It’s absolutely my business. You and Siwon are my family, and it’s not fair that you’re treating this like such a huge, scandalous secret. We deserve to know, and they all deserve to hear it from you. Not from Minho, not from Sehun, and gods, Zitao, they sure as hell don’t deserve to hear it from you after you’ve turned. I’m inclined to believe that _that_ wouldn’t be particularly helpful, in the grand scheme of things.”

Zitao spun on his heel, caught Yifan’s eye. “What I do with my life is none of your goddamn business. It’s none of their business, either. I’m an adult, I’ve been an adult for a long time, now, and we both know that I’m more than capable of making my own fucking decisions, Yifan. So, no, I’m not going to go running back to headquarters after patrol and tell them what my plan is. They’ll find out when they find out, and if that happens to be after I turn, then so be it.” Yifan opened his mouth to argue, but Zitao cut him off with a look. “You know what, get lost. I’ll go patrol on my own.”

***

_It took Kibum longer than it should have to realize that he was having a vision, not dreaming. It had been a while, since this had happened; since before he had stopped practicing magic, that was for sure. And that had been years and years and years ago, back when he had been afraid to hurt anyone with his abilities. Back before he had realized that not using his magic didn’t exactly do what it intended._

_Regardless, he realized that he was having a vision almost as soon as he heard the group of people in front of him speaking, voices quiet. He crept closer, breath caught in his throat. He didn’t know them, couldn’t place their faces or their voices. All he knew was that they were a combination of vampires and hunters, four of the seven carrying stakes at their waists, the other three with fangs out, but they weren’t hostile. They actually looked like they maybe-kind-of-sort-of enjoyed each other’s company. And that realization right there had Kibum worried. Hunters and vampires didn’t work together very well; and Kibum knew how hypocritical that sounded, but with what was going down with Siwon and Zitao and Leeteuk right now…it had become very obvious, to him, that it was difficult, for them, to collaborate. Vampires always had an outside motive driving them – blood – and the hunters, for the most part, didn’t approve of that. Maybe that was just Kibum being stereotypical, but he was inclined to believe that he was right. Besides, this group of people was giving him bad vibes, which he didn’t appreciate._

_“Are you sure about this?” A long silence, glances exchanged, but no words spoken by any of the others. “If we fuck this up…he’ll kill us, you know, if they don’t.” A long silence, and the vampire who had spoken looked around, helpless. “I don’t want to die, Joon, I really don’t. I quite value my life.”_

_“You’ll do exactly as you’ve been ordered, Yoongi, and you_ won’t _fuck it up, and therefore, we won’t die. Am I clear?” A long silence, and the first vampire – Yoongi – nodded slowly. “Our orders were clear. We have a job to do, now let’s do it.”_


	4. teeth

“Hakyeon’s angry.” Seunghyun hummed quietly, in his throat, as Jiyong crawled up onto the bed, dressed only in a long t-shirt that Seunghyun recognized almost immediately. “Did anyone tell you, about Ryeowook and Donghae?” Seunghyun shook his head, raised his arm so Jiyong could crawl underneath and curl against his side. “So you know about the feeder houses, but there’re also places where vampires can go to get blood drunk. But it’s become a business, now, so it’s turned into a matter of how many vampires a human can feed, and they’ve gotten very creative in how they do that. The more reputable feeders use magic, and the…shadier people take some drugs that I’m rather skeptical of. Anyways, Ryeowook and Donghae used to both have a real problem with this, according to Minseok, and recently, they’ve both started slipping back into old habits. And it wouldn’t be a problem, if they were doing it safely, but they aren’t.

“There are feeders that Heechul and Hakyeon trust, that have established their names in the vampire community, who have a reputation for what they do, in a good way. And then there are the others, the ones that we really…try not to associate with. And Eunhyuk – who has, by the way, agreed with Donghae’s feeding off of feeders, but only those that he trusts – knows this. So when Ryeowook and Donghae got caught with a feeder who…well, not only is she the druggie type, but she also…she takes the drunk vampires and dumps them in a room that’s…really unsafe, I’ve seen it before, any human, or vampire, or hunter could walk in there. Anyways, Eunhyuk was upset, and Heechul was upset, and Donghae and Ryeowook are still waiting for all of the effects of not only the drunkenness, but also the drugs to wear off.” Jiyong paused, to take a breath, before he continued. “Heechul told Hakyeon.” Seunghyun went still, a soft breath leaving his lips. “That’s how angry he was; and Hakyeon said he’s going to deal with the feeders that are doing this, because he won’t risk his children, or Heechul’s children, like this.”

Seunghyun hummed quietly, pressed a kiss to Jiyong’s forehead. “Am I going to have to worry about you, love?”

Jiyong scoffed. “Ha. You’re funny.” He nosed gently at Seunghyun’s shoulder, before he spoke again. “No. I like my human well enough.” After a moment, he moved, to straddle Seunghyun’s waist. He plucked the book out of Seunghyun’s hands, marked the page, and set it off to the side, before leaning down to press a kiss to his mouth. “It’s dinner time.” Seunghyun smiled, slid a hand into Jiyong’s hair, tugged gently. “ _Seunghyun_ , I wanna _feed_.” Seunghyun could see the bumps of his fangs underneath his lips, the pearly tips poking out just far enough that Seunghyun could see them. “’m _hungry_.”

“Open your mouth, love.” Jiyong obeyed, and, after a moment, Seunghyun pressed his head down, against his neck. A short moment of pain, when his fangs broke skin, and then Seunghyun sighed quietly, as the venom worked its way into his bloodstream. “Good boy.” Jiyong whined quietly, grip on Seunghyun’s shirt tightening. “I love you so much.”

***

Kibum got to Heechul’s as quickly as he could, ignoring Youngbae’s questions as he made his way through the twisting hallways. He knocked quickly, before he let himself in, not bothering to wait for a response. If Heechul didn’t want him here, he’d have done something about it. The vampire looked up quickly, and Leeteuk whipped around, a stormy look on his face. The look fell, almost as soon as he caught sight of Kibum’s eyes, dark and scared and upset, but before he could say anything, Heechul was in front of Kibum, a hand on his elbow, tight and firm. “What? What happened? If someone’s been kidnapped again I swear on my life-”

“No, that’s…no. It’s…I’ve had a vision.” Heechul went still, frozen in shock. “I…Heechul, I think we’re in danger. Or at least, some of us are. I don’t know. I didn’t hear everything, this idiot,” he motioned towards Youngbae, “woke me up.” Heechul bit down on his lower lip, hard enough that he drew blood. “There were seven of them; four hunters, three vampires. They’re working together. They’re getting involved in something that might get them killed, and they’ve been given very specific orders. If they fuck it up, they die.”

“I need a name.”

“I-”

“A _name_ , Kibum!”

“I…one of them…Yoongi?”

Kibum was sure that if Heechul had been human, he would have gone white as a sheet. He exhaled, long and slow, nostrils flaring, as he gazed at his brother, one hand clenching into a fist. After a moment, he turned away, walked past Leeteuk, pulling his phone from his pocket as he went. Kibum heard Youngbae slip out of the room, heard the door shut behind him, and he wanted to follow, because he knew, he could _see_ , just how furious Heechul was. After a moment, Leeteuk came to his side, forehead creased with worry.

A moment of silence, and then Heechul was speaking, almost too quickly for Kibum to follow. “Are you actually fucking joking? Tell me that this is a fucking _joke_ , Hakyeon, or I swear I will kill you.” A few soft words of confusion, from Hakyeon, and then Heechul was speaking again. “Oh, you think I don’t know? You _introduced_ me to them, you think I don’t know their names, you think I don’t know who you’ve sent after us, what you’ve _done_? I’m not stupid, no matter how much you’d like to believe otherwise. I’m just as stupid as you are.”

Heechul waited, in tense silence, and then hissed, through his teeth. “Don’t _lie_ to me. I am your _child_ , you are my _maker_ , and I will not be lied to. We are supposed to trust each other.”

They knew, by the look of fury that crossed Heechul’s face, that Hakyeon had hung up on him. After a moment, he growled, threw his phone across the room, and it hit a wall. Kibum turned to Leeteuk, and he nodded once, slipped quickly out of the room, left Heechul and Kibum alone. “You need to breathe. We don’t have any of the details. We don’t know who they’re coming after, or when, or why, or how, or where.”

Heechul snarled, mouth twisting with fury. “I know enough. I’ve met them, I know them, I know what they do. They’re Hakyeon’s secret police.” Kibum stilled, and then put a hand on Heechul’s elbow. “I can’t- my _family_ , Kibum-” Kibum nodded, pulled Heechul into a hug. “I don’t want them to get hurt. I don’t want them getting in their way. If they’re coming after me-”

“It’s not fine. Don’t you _dare_ say that it’s fine if they come after you.” Heechul was trembling, with rage and fury and fear, that much Kibum knew just by looking in his head. “You’re my brother, and Jonghyun’s brother, and Ryeowook and Minseok and Joonmyun and Jongdae and Jongin’s brother, and Leeteuk’s mate, and it is not _fine_ that they want to attack you, or anyone.”

Heechul went still, and Kibum released him, turned towards the door. Hakyeon stood there, staring at them. “My child.” Heechul growled, upper lip curling in disgust. “Come here.” Heechul shook his head, stubborn. “Heechul, you have my word, I didn’t ask them to do anything. I was under the impression that they were all still out East, I had no clue they had even decided to move.” After a moment, Kibum saw Heechul visibly relax, and he raised an eyebrow, calculating. “Your brother doesn’t believe me.” He turned to face Kibum, before he continued speaking. “I may be a bastard, Kibum, but I don’t want my child dead. I know _you_ wouldn’t understand the maker-child bond, but if he dies, it _hurts_ me. Would I really hurt myself?” 

“After what Leeteuk did you _your_ mate, absolutely.”

Hakyeon’s eyes narrowed, but before he could speak, Heechul was already talking. “After _what_?”

“I…oh. You didn’t…he didn’t tell you?” Heechul gaped at Kibum, who spoke quickly. “Hakyeon was going to torture him, Leeteuk had a stake hidden, he killed Sanghyuk.” He paused. “Leeteuk really never said anything?”

After a moment of waiting for Heechul to speak, Kibum moved, walked past Hakyeon, and out the door, where he found Youngbae and Leeteuk waiting. He slipped between the two of them, and walked down the hallway. Youngbae was following him, he could sense that much, but he didn’t speak to the vampire, as they made their way out of the building. He only spoke once they had reached the main street, at which point Kibum pulled Youngbae into a shadowed alleyway. “Kiss me.” After a moment, Youngbae obeyed, pressed a soft, lingering kiss to Kibum’s mouth. When he pulled back, the hunter wiped a hand over his mouth. “Yeah, nope.” He looked around the corner, grabbed Youngbae’s wrist, and pulled him out onto the street. “You smell him?” Youngbae shook his head, eyes on the back of the other vampire as he moved quickly down the street. “Catch him.” Youngbae was quick to obey, and in seconds, had the vampire pinned in place, throat exposed.

Kibum made his way towards them, his hand coming up to brush over the vampire’s jawline. “Stupid.” His grip tightened, and within seconds, he had pried the vampire’s mind open, could see every thought that went through his head. “So stupid. More stupid, I think, than some of the hunters I know, and that’s saying something.” The vampire snarled at him, straining in Youngbae’s grip. “Oh, you brought _friends_ , I see.”

In seconds there was a gentle hand on his elbow, pulling him away from the vampire. “Oh, now, sweet hunter, I wouldn’t touch him, if I were you. He’s mine, you see, and I get quite protective of what’s _mine_.” Kibum grinned, turned towards the newcomer, a hunter. “You must be Heechul’s brother. Oh, yes, I’ve heard things about you.” Kibum didn’t speak, but he did motion Youngbae forward. He released the vampire, and came quickly to Kibum’s side, looking just as defensive as the hunter in front of Kibum. “Oh, I see you’ve brought your little guard dog, too. Well, that just makes this a right old party, doesn’t it?”

“You’re Hakyeon’s child.”

“One of many.” A long silence, then the other hunter looked up quickly. “Jungkook, baby, time to go.” He reached out, and the vampire took his hand, and within seconds, they had vanished.

Kibum turned quickly when the other hunters reached them. “I’m fine, it’s fine, we need to get home, _now_. Leeteuk, call the vampires; Siwon, summon the other hunters; Zitao, go tell Luhan that we need to contact Hakyeon immediately.” There was a split second of hesitation, and then they all moved, faster than Kibum had anticipated.

***

Kangin jumped when he felt hands on his waist, and then relaxed, into Kyuhyun’s grip. “Mm, you scared me.” The vampire laughed quietly, pressed his face into Kangin’s shoulder. “I missed you today. I was going to come by, but Leeteuk said that Heechul said that you were busy.” Another quiet laugh, from Kyuhyun. “I almost came by anyways, but Luhan needed me on a patrol because Eunhyuk never came in for work – he’s fine, it’s fine, he was with Donghae, apparently they banged hard enough that they slept until 3 in the afternoon.”

“I really needed that image, thank you.”

Kangin laughed, turned to face the vampire behind him. He set his hands on Kyuhyun’s shoulders, and pressed a kiss to his mouth, gentle and lingering, before he pulled back. “I love you. So much.” Kyuhyun grinned, leaned forward to kiss Kangin again, but the hunter had already pulled free of his grip, and walked away. “Eunhyuk told me about Ryeowook and Donghae.” Kyuhyun swore quietly under his breath, as he watched the hunter slid his coat off of his shoulders. “Tell me that you aren’t into that kind of shit.”

“I’m not.” Kyuhyun came forward, pressed his nose into Kangin’s neck. “I like you just fine.”

“Good.” Kangin pulled free again, and made his way up the stairs, Kyuhyun right at his heels. When they reached the bedroom door, Kangin stopped, looked at Kyuhyun. “Be good.”

“I always am.”

They slipped inside, and Kangin kissed Kyuhyun again, this time hard and demanding, pulling a soft whimper from Kyuhyun’s lips. His hands made quick work of the vampire’s shirt, and then he pushed him backwards, onto the bed. “I missed you. You didn’t come visit last night.”

“I’m-” He froze, eyes narrow. “I’m sorry, your phone is ringing, rather insistently.” He got to his feet, and vanished, in a flash. He had returned in seconds, phone at his ear. “Uh-huh. Yep. I’ll let him know. Thank you. Bye.” After a moment, he hung up, and looked at Kangin. “So there’s been a development.”

“Meaning?”

“Um. Luhan needs us at headquarters immediately.”


	5. princess

Heechul had closed the door seconds after he had stepped into Luhan’s office, where the other senior hunters were gathered. He came to stand beside Leeteuk, but didn’t touch him, as his eyes picked up on the way Siwon and Zitao were both standing as far away from the others as they could. He exchanged a look, with Zitao, and almost immediately, the young hunter’s thoughts filled his mind. _They know. About Siwon and I. And they’ve banned us from seeing our mates. They don’t know about what Leeteuk asked you, and even if they did, it’s not the same as what Siwon and I plan to do_. Heechul gave an almost imperceptible nod, as Luhan got to his feet.

“Now that you’re all here, we can…begin.” He sounded bitter, sour, angry. “As you all probably know, we have a problem. I’m sure Heechul can fill us in on the finer details, but from what I’ve heard, a group of hunters and vampires – Hakyeon’s so-called ‘secret police’ – have come here. Whether or not that was on his orders, I don’t know.” He looked at Heechul, who straightened.

“Their leader is a hunter named Namjoon. There are four hunter, three vampires. They’ve been working for Hakyeon for…almost seven hundred years, I think? Longer than I’ve been alive, certainly. When he needs them to, they do his dirty work.” He paused, exchanged a look with Seungri, who scowled at him. “They’re murderers. He dragged them out of the lowest of the lowest places, turned them into his personal strike team. They are ruthless; they don’t care who they hurt, so long as they do what he asks. If they complete their missions, he rewards them.” He came forward, to stand behind Luhan. “Hakyeon has told me that he didn’t order them to come here, but…that has to be taken with a grain of salt. He is _Hakyeon_ , after all.”

Leeteuk spoke quietly, eyes on the floor, arms crossed over his chest. “I believe him.” Heechul froze, turned to look at his mate. “Don’t look at me like that, Heechul. I…I don’t think he’s lying. Based on…well, what Kibum’s told me, and what I saw in your mind, and what I saw in Hakyeon’s mind, when he came to see you…he’s not lying, I don’t think.” Heechul’s mouth closed, and then opened, and then closed again. “They’re a threat. They’re dangerous, and…well, I’ve heard from the Council. The Lady’s on trial.”

Jaws dropped open, and a broken gasp left Luhan’s mouth. “Are you serious?”

Leeteuk nodded. “They sent a report on Monday. You weren’t around, so I stepped in.” Luhan nodded, as Leeteuk pulled the paper out of his pocket, and set it on the desk. “There’s a whole list of reasons. Based on what I’ve heard, from…well, our sources, things aren’t looking well for her.” Luhan sighed, buried his head in his hands. “We need to find a candidate, and we need to find one _now_ , without getting ourselves killed.”

“Speaking of…candidates.” They all turned to Zitao at once, as he came forward. “I…might know someone.”

***

“On your left.”

Lisa spun out of the way as another hunter ran past her, stake drawn. Without sparing her companion a second glance, Lisa grabbed at the vampire on her right, stake flashing through the air, as it drove through the vampire’s heart. “Jennie, behind you.” The hunter spun, planted her foot in the vampire’s chest. He was so surprised that he was knocked backwards, right into Lisa’s range of attack, and she drove her stake through his chest, drawing a scream from him as the stake grazed his heart. Jennie drove her own stake through his shoulder, and the vampire snarled. “Oh, don’t torture the poor thing. Kill him.”

Jennie grinned at her, slowly drew her stake free, and placed the tip right over the vampire’s heart. “Should I? Perhaps I should hurt him. We both know what he did to the rest of the patrol.” Lisa rolled her eyes. After a moment, Jennie pushed gently, breaking skin and drawing vampire blood. “Mm. Are you going to scream for me?” A few more moments of silence, and, in a split second, Lisa withdrew her own stake, and quickly drove it through the vampire’s heart, killing him almost instantly. “ _Lisa_ -”

“You were taking too long. He was a vampire, he killed our teammates, and he needed to die. That’s it. Time to go home.” Lisa shoved the vampire’s body to the ground, and pulled her phone out of her jacket. She dialed a number quickly, and raised it to her ear. “We’ve done it. Send a clean-up crew, quick. The sun’ll be up soon, I don’t need people finding vampire bodies on Main Street.” She hung up without waiting for a response, and then looked at Jennie. “I’m going home. You’re welcome to do the same, or you can stay here and wait for clean-up to come through.” She didn’t wait for an answer, as she started down the street.

“Lisa, wait!” She paused, waiting for a few seconds as Jennie caught up, tying her jacket in place quickly as she moved. “Are you okay?” Lisa didn’t answer, as they made their way quickly down the street. “Look, I get it, you want to go home, but Lisa, if you aren’t alright, you can talk to me, you know that?” Still no answer, and Jennie sighed quietly. “ _Lisa_ -”

“Shush. I’d quite like to get inside, as quickly as possible, please. The sun won’t come out for an hour or so, and that’s plenty of time for a vampire to show up and kill us, or worse.” Lisa stopped outside of a building, and pulled the door open, stepped inside. Jennie followed quickly, and once they were inside, Lisa visibly relaxed. “I’m fine, Jennie. There’ve been more vampires, recently, that’s all. It puts us all on edge, not just me, you know that.” She paused, looked over her shoulder. “I’ll go file the report, if you’ve like me to. You can head upstairs and go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

***

Jongin snarled as he ripped open the front door, eyes finding the two vampires standing their almost instantly. Kyungsoo was only a few steps behind him, reached out to put his hand on the small of Jongin’s back. “What in the _fuck_ are you doing at our home, at _two in the mother fucking afternoon_? _Some_ of us _decent_ people are trying to fucking sleep, have some fucking _respect_ , why the fuck are you here, you fucking ass-licking little-” Kyungsoo slapped a hand over his mouth, silencing Jongin almost instantly.

“My apologies, but my dear boyfriend has a point. We’ve trying to sleep, you’re Hakyeon’s guard dogs, why are you here?”

Taekwoon looked lost for words, fingers fisted in his companion’s sleeve. The other vampire – Jongin vaguely recognized him as Jaehwan, Taekwoon’s mate – spoke quietly, voice trembling. “Hakyeon didn’t send us. We came here on our own. I’m sorry, Seungri pointed us this way.” Jaehwan’s eyes flitted quickly between Jongin and Kyungsoo, biting back a whine. “I’m sorry. There’s been talk of…is it true that Namjoon and his… _gang_ are here?” Jongin ran a hand through his hair, pressed his face into Kyungsoo’s hair. “Oh, gods, no, _no_.” He looked like he was about to burst into tears. “ _No_.” 

A long moment of silence, and then Jaehwan spun around, eyes wide. A pair of people – one hunter, one vampire – were coming up the driveway, relaxed and smirking. Jongin’s breath caught in his throat, and he stepped in front of Kyungsoo, defensive. “What are you doing here?” The hunter simply smiled up at him, came to a halt only a few feet from Taekwoon and Jaehwan. “Namjoon, _why_? You don’t have to be here, we’ve done nothing wrong.” The hunter laughed quietly, slid a hand around the waist of the vampire beside him.

“Let us inside, sweetheart, and I’ll answer your questions. I’ll answer _all_ of them, you have my word, just let us in.” At those last few words, his eyes fell on Kyungsoo. Jongin crawled, made to step forward, but Kyungsoo held him back. “Oh, lovely. We get to have some fun today, don’t we, Jungkook?” It took Jongin a moment to realize that Namjoon and Jungkook had moved closer, but before he could warn Taekwoon and Jaehwan, Namjoon had a hand on the back of Jaehwan’s neck, and Jungkook had wrapped his arms around Taekwoon’s middle, locking him in place. “Let us _in_ , sweetheart.” Kyungsoo shook his head stubbornly, and Namjoon exchanged a look with Jungkook, who quickly sank his teeth into Taekwoon’s neck, drawing blood.

There was no response, for a few moments, and then Taekwoon went limp, as venom worked its way through his blood. Namjoon smiled serenely, as he handed his stake to Jungkook who placed it against Taekwoon’s back. Jaehwan whimpered, shook his head quickly, silently begging Namjoon, who wasn’t paying any attention to him. “Namjoon, no, don’t, please, he’s done nothing, don’t hurt him, please, _Joon_ -” He broke off with a quiet scream, as Jungkook pushed the stake through Taekwoon’s body. “ _No_!”

Namjoon was quick to push Jaehwan against the wall of the house, silencing him effectively. “Let us _in_ , sweetheart, or I’ll kill this one too.” Jongin whined, low, in Kyungsoo’s ear, and the hunter put a hand on his arm. “Come on, Kyungsoo, you care about this princess, don’t you?” Kyungsoo’s upper lip twitched, as he edged around Jongin to stand at the very edge of the borders of the house. “Please let us in, we’ll be good little boys.” His voice was dripping sarcasm, and Kyungsoo would have laughed, if not for the situation that Jaehwan was in.

“If you let him go – and promise to answer our questions – then I will.”

“Oh, you have my word, darling, I’ll be good.”

Kyungsoo took a deep breath, shaking. He looked at Jaehwan, looked at Namjoon, at Jungkook, before he spoke. “Fine. Jaehwan, Jungkook, Namjoon, you can all…come in.” Jaehwan was the first one inside, clinging to Jongin, the elder vampire putting an arm around his shoulders. Next came Jungkook, slow and predatory, but Kyungsoo knew enough about him to know that he was on Namjoon’s leash. Finally, the hunter himself entered the building, a cold little smile on his lips. “You’ll answer our questions?”

Namjoon smiled at him, serene and sinister. “Let’s chat, Kyungsoo. Hunter to hunter.”

***

Heechul winced when his head the wall, before he straightened, gaze locked on Hakyeon as he came forward, eyes narrowed, a rather angry set to his mouth. “I’ve done nothing wrong. You don’t have to throw me into walls like that, Hakyeon-” He cut off when Hakyeon grabbed him by his throat, shoved him up against the wall. “You know damn well why I think you’re the one behind Namjoon’s arrival. You and I both know who trained them, who controls them, who gives them their orders. What reason would he have to come here of his own accord? And who else would challenge your authority, my darling maker, by trying to take control of your guard dogs?” Hakyeon growled at him, bared his fangs, and Heechul hissed. “Look, you know that I wouldn’t betray you. You’re my maker, I’m your child. We’re family. But please, Hakyeon, I want the truth. I want to see the truth, please. I need to know.” Hakyeon looked displeased, at the idea. “I just want to know, with certainty, that it wasn’t you. If you won’t show me, then I have no reason to believe that it wasn’t you. In fact, the longer you hide it, the more inclined I am to believe that you’re lying.”

“Leeteuk believes me.”

“I know he does. And I love him, and trust him, really, I do, but I also know you, Hakyeon. I know what you’re like, I lived with you for long enough, and I know that you like to prove your power; I know that if you _can’t_ , then you take out whoever is standing against you. Don’t look at me like that, you’ve done it on more than one occasion.” Heechul paused, squirmed for a moment. “And you forget, dear maker, that you trained me to be just like you.”


	6. venom

“Are you telling me,” Luhan paused, seething. He was angry, furious, at what Zitao had just told him. “that we have had a group of hunter _vigilantes_ running around the city for two _fucking years_ , that you’ve been _training_ them, helping them, providing for them, under our noses, without saying a _damn_ thing?” Zitao shrugged, looked out the window. “Look at me, Zitao.” Angry, furious venom coated his voice, as he glared at the back of Zitao’s head. “Look at me, you stupid piece of shit-”

He cut off when Zitao whirled around, face neutral. “Fine. You want to know why? I would hope that you of all people would understand how painful the bureaucracy of what we do is. I cannot subject them to that; they’re just kids, they never had the opportunity to go to the Academy, they would have gotten kicked out in about three seconds, but Luhan, they want to fight vampires. They want to keep people safe. You and I both know that we cannot allow them into our ranks without their graduation from the Academy, and so I did what I had to do. They want to help. And right now, with what’s going on…we need all the help we can get. When our head hunter is being attacked by the Lady’s bitches, when vampire assassins are finding their way into our city and _killing_ the people that we are responsible for, I will not turn down someone who wants to help us protect those we are obligated to protect.” Zitao paused to breathe for a second, chest heaving. “And if that means going behind your back, and giving my time, my resources, to these kids – who you’re calling _vigilantes_ , which, by definition, is entirely incorrect – then by the _gods_ I’m going to do it. We need hunters. We need someone we can put up as a candidate for Ladyship. None of the other senior hunters have made a single effort to solve that problem, because they’ve been occupied with the other, more immediate issue that we’re dealing with. Forgive me for looking out for our future interests.”

Luhan hissed quietly. “Zitao-”

“And furthermore, let’s talk about you forbidding me from seeing my mate. You want to make our relationship with the vampires worse? You know what happens when you separate a vampire from his _mate_? I hate to break it to you, Luhan, but they’re very territorial creatures.” Zitao paused, tugged aside the collar of his shirt, revealing a patchwork of healing bitemarks and bruises and hickeys. “There is a reason that Sehun marks me like this, when I allow it. He is mine, and I am his, and he is laying his claim on what rightfully belongs to him.” Luhan opened his mouth to speak, ready to argue, but Zitao cut him off. “So when you tell him, or any of them, that they are no longer allowed to see their humans, their mates, you are telling them that you have more of a right to their property than they do, and that makes them _furious_.”

Luhan slapped Zitao, and the younger hunter snarled, threw a punch that would have hit Luhan square in the nose, if Minho hadn’t grabbed Zitao’s wrist. “That’s enough. Zitao, get out. Go cool down.” Zitao ripped his arm out of Minho’s grip. “ _Go_ , Zitao.” After a moment, Zitao nodded, slipped out of the room. As soon as the door shut behind him, Minho turned on Luhan. “Are you out of your damn mind? Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?” Luhan rolled his eyes, walked back around to stand behind his desk, placing the object in between himself and the hunters. “We have enough problems with vampire hostility, for the mate thing, and Namjoon’s gang being here, you really want to divide the hunters as well? I can almost guarantee, Luhan, that plenty of them will side with him.”

“Are you agreeing with him?”

Seunghyun cleared his throat, before he spoke. “He has a point. He was just trying to help, Luhan. He was protecting his family. And…well, he has brought up two options for our candidate, when we previously had none.” Seunghyun exchanged a glance with Yifan, before he spoke again. “I mean, he could have gone about it better. And…well, he’s not wrong, about you upsetting the vampires. As gentle as Jiyong is…he’s…possessive.” Luhan sighed heavily, ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll go speak with Heechul tonight. Siwon will come with me.” Luhan didn’t seem to have the energy to argue as he sat down, though it looked like he wanted to. “I’ll organize a patrol for tonight. I’ll check on Zitao.”

After a few moments of awkward, tense silence, the senior hunters all left the room, in a little bit of a swarm, leaving Luhan alone.

***

Jongin had known that Jungkook was creepy, but he hadn’t really understood just how strange the elder vampire was until now. He didn’t move, and while, in general, most vampires were stiller than humans, most of them still had human habits. But Jungkook was creepily still, no nervous movements of his fingers or eyebrows. His gaze hadn’t left Jongin’s eyes, completely ignoring Jaehwan’s presence at the table. Jaehwan was clinging to Jongin, trembling, but not making a sound. They were listening intently to the conversation taking place in the room next door. Jongin could practically smell Kyungsoo’s fear.

“I’ll repeat the question from earlier; why are you here?” A pause – Jongin was pretty sure that Namjoon had opened his mouth to answer, but Kyungsoo cut him off. “And I’m not looking for your snippy little remarks. I know why you’re in my living room, I want to know why you’ve come to this city.”

A quiet laugh, from Namjoon, and they heard him shift. “I’m _here_ , sweet one, because I’ve been _ordered_ here. I do as I’m told, and I try to have fun while I’m doing it. If that means killing sweet little things like you that don’t matter, then I will gladly do it. And if it keeps my darlings happy, even better.” He moved again, and Jongin stiffened, as he heard Kyungsoo’s hand slide down to grip his stake. At that, Jungkook shot him a look, before his face smoothed back into neutrality.

“And who ordered you here?”

“Oh, so sweet Heechul hasn’t told you? Pity. Although…I’d have thought that Jongin might have mentioned it. You know, one of my darlings helped raise him. He was _so_ resistant, to the idea of being a vampire. He hated us, hated Heechul and Hakyeon and Ryeowook and Minseok and Joonmyun and Jongdae, and all of them. I was one of the only people in that particular crowd that he would respond to. He was a hunter, you know, before he was turned.” Kyungsoo growled quietly, and Jongin winced. “Oh, did my precious sweetheart not share some of those details with you?” A quiet, hushed sigh, before Namjoon spoke again. “I know him, Kyungsoo. I know what he’s like, and when I say that, I mean that I _know_ him. All of him.” Jaehwan yanked away from Jongin, looked at him, bewildered. Jongin shook his head quickly, and a small, snarky smile flashed across Jungkook’s face.

“You’re avoiding the question. Stop changing the subject.” Namjoon laughed quietly, and they heard Kyungsoo get to his feet. “If you aren’t going to do as you promised, you can leave.”

Seconds later, a crash, and Jongin was on his feet, steps away from the living room, stopped only when Jungkook slid in between him and the door. “Are you trying to kick me out, sweet hunter? That would be a mistake, if that’s what you were doing. I don’t think it is, I don’t think you’re that stupid, but I might be mistaken.” A pause. “Oh, are we drawing stakes? Show me what you can do, Kyungsoo. Go on, sweet hunter, show me. Show me how _strong_ you are.” He was mocking Kyungsoo, that much was obvious, and Jongin closed his eyes in a silent plea, when he heard Kyungsoo draw his stake. “I could kill you right now, for threatening me. Oh, don’t look surprised, you know the International Hunter Laws as well as I do. I helped the first Lady _write_ them.”

“He always looks like that.” Jongin spoke quietly, and Jungkook growled at him, put a warning hand on Jongin’s shoulder. He was still ignoring Jaehwan, but the vampire hadn’t moved from where he was seated.

“Thank you for your input, Jongin, but no one asked.” After a moment, Namjoon spoke to Kyungsoo again. “That’s a pretty stake you’ve got there, sweet hunter. It would be a real shame if someone were to…damage it.” A long silence. “Oh, your glare is so intimidating. I’m truly _terrified_ , Kyungsoo.” A few beats of silence, and then they were the scuffle begin. Punches were thrown, a few of them landed, Kyungsoo nicked Namjoon with his stake, but then fell still when the elder hunter pinned him to the wall. “You’re not bad, I’ll give you that. And for that reason alone, sweet hunter, I’ll let you live, for now.” Namjoon pulled back, and they heard him come towards the door, looked up when he stepped out. He put a hand on Jungkook’s waist, guided him towards the hallway. “Oh, and Kyungsoo?” The hunter appeared in the doorway, upper lip bleeding, right eye swelling up. “Keep your dog on a shorter leash. It helps, I promise.”

***

Leeteuk opened the door to find Heechul standing there, Seunghyun and Siwon at either shoulder, Han Geng and Kibum behind them. He sighed quietly, but stepped aside, let them in. Heechul was the last one in, and he paused, allowed the others to continue forward into the house, as he pushed the door shut, and turned to Leeteuk. He pressed a kiss to Leeteuk’s cheek, exchanged a look with him. “I’ll explain as quickly as I can.” He took Leeteuk’s hand, and led him into the house, following the others. They had all made themselves at home at the kitchen table, and Kibum was seated on the counter. “Siwon is going to turn. Tonight. And he wants you to be there, in case it goes…wrong.” Leeteuk nodded slowly, shot a look at Kibum. “Kibum needs to have a word with you and Seunghyun. So, while I’m busy with Siwon and Han Geng, you three are going to have your little chat, and I’ll call you when I’m ready.” They nodded slowly, and Han Geng took Siwon’s hand. “D’you have a spare room-”

“Upstairs. First door on the left. If you get blood on my floor, I’ll kill you.” Heechul nodded, as he put a hand on Han Geng’s back, and guided them both out of the kitchen. Seunghyun motioned Leeteuk forward, and he sat down across from Seunghyun. Kibum gazed at them for a long moment, before he opened his mouth.

“You were both there when Zitao had his outburst. Seunghyun and I went to speak to him, after we got back from speaking to Heechul, the first time. And he’s introduced us, to the girls. Lisa and Jennie.” Kibum took a deep breath. “Seunghyun and Siwon went back to see Heechul after that, and I went to talk to Luhan. He won’t…he’s refusing to allow either of them to be potential candidates, because he’s furious with Zitao.”

“You’re proposing we go above Luhan’s head. To the Council.”

Kibum looked hesitant to admit to anything of the sort. “I…yeah, pretty much. Because…if we don’t find someone _soon_ , we won’t have a Lady. The trial’s going to be over soon.” Leeteuk nodded. “The only thing is…well, Leeteuk, amongst the three of us, your seniority gives you authority over Seunghyun and me.”

“You’re asking _me_ to go behind Luhan’s back and speak to the Council.” Kibum shrugged, nodded. “He’s tearing the hunters apart. Zitao’s right, about how territorial the vampires get. What Luhan has done is unfair.” He paused. “I’ll do it. Absolutely.”


	7. firestorm

Zitao had lost count of how many punches he had thrown, how many had hit, how much it hurt, how much blood had fallen on the floor. He didn’t stop, kept pushing, even when he heard the air whisper as Sehun entered the room, swift and quiet and dangerous. His knuckles were already bruising, bleeding, but he didn’t care. He was angry, furious, and he couldn’t exactly go and punch Luhan, now could he? And it hurt, he knew that; each new punch sent a wave of pain up his arm, but he wouldn’t stop. The pain let him think, helped him ignore the fury in the back of his mind. He realized, then, that he was crying, hot, angry tears sliding down his cheeks, but still, he continued; continued until Sehun stopped him, grabbed his wrists and held him still. “That’s enough.” Zitao growled, squirmed, tried to break out of Sehun’s grip, but, ultimately, failed. “Enough, Zitao. Enough.” Carefully, slowly, he guided the human backwards, pressed him into the wall, kissed him gently. “I know it hurts, trust me, I do. I can feel your pain, in your mind.” Zitao was still crying, had pressed his face into Sehun’s shoulder. “I know.” After a few seconds, Zitao’s knees gave out, and he slid to the floor, Sehun guiding him down.

“I hate him.”

“No, you don’t.” Zitao looked ready to argue, but Sehun cut him off. “You’re angry at him, furious, really. But you don’t hate him. You want to punch him, sweetie, you don’t want to kill him.” Sehun shifted, to kneel in between Zitao’s legs, took his hands. “You two are so angry at each other. I don’t blame you, but Minho’s right, it’s dividing the hunters. I don’t like that, not with Namjoon and company in town.” He pressed his mouth gently to the bruises and bleeding wounds on Zitao’s knuckles. “I don’t like it when other people make you bleed.” Zitao laughed quietly, rolled his eyes. “It’s _my_ job, I’m your vampire, and you’re my human. The only person who’s supposed to bleed you is _me_. Same thing for the bruises. You’re supposed to wear them on your neck, silly human, not your hands.” He sucked gently on the bleeding wounds, waiting patiently for his venom to heal them. “My sweet hunter.”

Zitao leaned against Sehun’s shoulder, a soft whimper leaving his lips. “I saw Siwon and Seunghyun leaving earlier. Where-” Sehun kissed him, silenced his question.

“They…they went to Leeteuk’s, with Heechul and Han Geng. Siwon is turning tonight.” Zitao nodded slowly, pressed his mouth to Sehun’s collarbone. “Heechul has to keep him safe, for a week, at least. If he does as well as Han Geng did, it won’t take long. But for a while, he’ll be vulnerable, because he won’t be in the right mind.” Zitao’s fingers fisted in his shirt, and he whined when it pulled at the healing wounds on his hands. “You need to make sure the girls will be safe for the night. If Namjoon and them find out…who knows what’ll happen.” Zitao nodded once, and he pressed a gentle kiss to Sehun’s shoulder, before he pulled away. “Come straight home afterwards. I’ll be waiting for you.” Sehun kissed Zitao once more, before he got to his feet, pulled the hunter with him. “Take care of them.”

***

“Luhan.”

The hunter didn’t move when he heard Minseok speak, didn’t turn even when the vampire slid his arms around Luhan’s waist, hugged him from behind. “What do you want? Are you here to tell me that I’m wrong, that I should _reward_ Zitao for what he’s done? Because if that’s why you’re here, Minseok, I don’t want to hear it.” A long silence. Minseok pressed his face into Luhan’s shoulder, inhaling slowly. “What is it with you vampires?”

“I’m not going to eat you. I told you that I wouldn’t, unless you asked. We talked about this, Luhan. We talked about the feeders and I agreed that I wouldn’t hurt anyone.” Luhan sniffed delicately. “But I get the feeling that you aren’t talking about the blood. You’re talking about Hakyeon’s little gang. The group that’s threatened your family. You know their leader is a hunter?” Luhan nodded slowly. “But I see your point. They’re ruthless, and mean, and they’ll hurt your friends, if they get in the way.”

A long silence. Luhan didn’t seem to want to speak, or respond, or anything. He was tense, angry, and after a few seconds, Minseok let him go. A split second later, and the door opened, with a crash. Minseok looked over quickly, found a whining Jongin, another vampire beside him – one of Hakyeon’s new kids. Jae-something? Jongin was supporting Kyungsoo, and it looked like the hunter had passed out, his face pale. Minseok stepped forward, Luhan right behind him. Luhan allowed Kyungsoo to slide into his arms, and he carefully deposited him on the couch, pulled a blanket over his body. “What happened?” Jongin sobbed, threw himself into Minseok’s arms, shaking.

“I-it was Namjoon, and Jungkook. They…Taekwoon and Jaehwan ran away from Hakyeon and came to our home, but then Joon and Jungkook showed up, and they killed Taekwoon and forced Kyungsoo to let them in, and then Kyungsoo and Namjoon talked, but then they fought and Minseok, I didn’t…I can’t…I couldn’t _protect_ him, and he got hurt, and Namjoon was the one hurting him, and I’m pretty sure Jungkook would have killed me if I had tried to do anything.” He was sobbing, clinging to Minseok. “I need to talk to Hakyeon, but I…I can’t leave Jaehwan, and I can’t leave Kyungsoo, but I don’t…don’t wanna bring him with me, Minseok, _help_.”

“Shh, hush, Jongin, breathe.” After a few moments, Jongin’s sobs calmed into quiet sniffles. “Does Heechul know?” Jongin shook his head quickly. “Ah. Right. He’s…he’s busy. My apologies. I’ll…I’ll call Hakyeon. You can talk to him, and Jaehwan can talk to him, and Kyungsoo can talk to him. Oh, sweet boy, breathe.”

“Don’t call me that.” Minseok froze, nodded slowly. “Okay. Okay. Let me…is Kyungsoo awake? I need to…I need him.” After a moment, Minseok released Jongin, and he sat on the couch beside Kyungsoo, one hand resting on his thigh. He almost instantly relaxed, and then it was Jaehwan’s turn to crawl into Minseok’s arms, when the elder held out an arm.

“Call Hakyeon.” Luhan waited for a moment, before he picked up his phone, dialed Hakyeon’s number. “Tell him that we need to talk to him.” Luhan nodded, and then spoke quietly into the phone, as Minseok massaged Jaehwan’s back. “Shh, hush, you’re alright. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” Jaehwan sobbed, clinging. “You’re alright. I won’t let them hurt you.” A wrecked sob left Jaehwan’s lips, and he pressed his face into Minseok’s neck. “Jongin, sweetheart, I think you might need to go to Hakyeon. Alone. He’ll listen to you.”

“No, he won’t.”

“He will.” They all looked up when Ryeowook spoke, standing in the doorway. “He’ll listen to you. He’s already proven that he won’t listen to Heechul, but we both know, Jongin, that you aren’t afraid to fight him if you have to.” Jongin shook his head, avoiding Ryeowook’s gaze. “If you won’t go to Hakyeon, nothing will change.”

Jongin sat still for a moment, and then looked up quickly. “I won’t talk to Hakyeon. But I…I will go to Seokjin.” Ryeowook stilled, face sliding into cold neutrality. “If anyone can change Namjoon’s mind, it’s Seokjin.” After a moment, Jongin got to his feet. “Take care of Kyungsoo.”

Ryeowook nodded, came towards Jongin. “You don’t even know where to find him.”

Jongin looked out the window. “Yes, I do.”


	8. memory

Jongin was trembling when he arrived at the street corner, eyes darting about in search of…well, anything. But there were no vampires, and no humans, and he was very much aware of how alone he was. Carefully, he adjusted his scarf, and looked over his shoulder. After a long, tense moment, he leaned backwards against a brick wall, and pulled out his phone. Kyungsoo had texted him, a minute ago, and Jongin smiled. He typed out a quick response, and sent it, before pocketing his phone again. The bright light of the phone in the darkness hurt his eyes, sensitive after an hour of crying.

“I was wondering when you’d come visit me, sweet boy.” Jongin looked up quickly, eyes finding Seokjin almost instantly. “Although,” he paused, as he came forward, face neutral. “it always did take you a while, to take initiative.” Jongin sniffed delicately, looked away. “Oh, sweet boy, I did miss that pretty little face of yours.” Jongin was stiff, awkward, and he knew that Seokjin could tell, knew that the elder was avoiding the elephant in the room. “Are you feeding well, my sweet, darling boy? Have you gotten over those little issues of yours yet?”

Jongin pushed off of the wall, mouth set in a firm line. “I’m doing fine.” Seokjin raised an eyebrow, and Jongin could read what that meant perfectly in his eyes. _You didn’t answer my question_. “I’m _feeding_ just fine, Seokjin.” The elder vampire smiled fondly at him, and Jongin sniffed again. “Not that it’s your business. _You_ aren’t my maker, you didn’t create me, and I’m not your responsibility, or your problem.” Seokjin laughed quietly, simply gazed at Jongin in a way that was oddly patronizing. “I have a human, who lets me feed from him. He likes me, and I like him, and it works, Seokjin.”

After a moment, Seokjin spoke, voice quiet and gentle and every bit the voice that Jongin remembered, from all those years ago. “I get the feeling, sweet boy, that you aren’t angry because of the feeding. You’re angry because of what Namjoon and Jungkook did to dear Hakyeon’s child. Taekwoon.” After a second of silent deliberation, Jongin nodded. “You know Hakyeon would have killed him anyways. In a way that would be far slower and more painful than what Jungkook did. He saved Taekwoon so much pain. You and I both know that Hakyeon doesn’t forgive betrayal like that. He’s barely forgiven Heechul for taking Jongdae away from him, and it’s been centuries.”

Jongin turned away from Seokjin, bit down on his lower lip, hard enough to draw blood. “Seokjin?” The elder vampire hummed quietly in an unspoken question. “I…they asked me to ask you to stop Namjoon. Or, well, they asked me to convince Hakyeon to stop Namjoon, but you and I both know that Hakyeon didn’t order this.” Seokjin didn’t answer, and Jongin didn’t so much as look over his shoulder to see if the elder had nodded. “I told them that Hakyeon wouldn’t be able to help. And then I realized that _you_ might.” It was Seokjin’s turn to sniff, although his sounded far more incredulous. “Seokjin, I’m inclined to believe that this isn’t what you wanted. I don’t think you want to fight, I think you’re just here because Namjoon is forcing you to be here. But I know – and you know it too – that if you tell him to stop, he’ll stop. At this point, he won’t even listen to Hakyeon, but I’m inclined to believe that he’d listen to you.” 

“Well, sweet boy, that’s where you’d be wrong. No one _tells_ Namjoon what to do, you know that. He does as he pleases, even Hakyeon knows that well enough. He never told us to do anything, he always asked, always gave Namjoon a choice, because that bastard doesn’t obey anyone’s _orders_. So yes, I could _ask_ him to leave, and I could probably convince him.” Jongin turned quickly, to look at the elder. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to do it. I don’t work for _free_ , Jongin. That feeding thing? That was a favor that I owned Joon. And it was a favor to you, that you paid back well enough, all those years ago. And _now_ , sweet boy, you’re going to make me an offer, otherwise, sweetheart, I think you might want to find someone else to help you.”

_There is no one else, you know that_. Seokjin smiled, a spark of danger in his eyes. “You and I both know that there’s next to _nothing_ that I could possibly give to you. You have _everything_ that you could possibly want, and if you don’t, you can get it with a snap of your fingers.” Seokjin shrugged with one shoulder, not breaking eye contact. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you.”

Seokjin smiled gently, and then, in a split second, he was pressing Jongin into the wall, caging him with a hand on either side of his head. “You care about them that much? You care about your friends enough that you’d do anything for them?” Jongin looked away, and Seokjin laughed quietly, condescending. “Oh. _Oh_ , there’s a mate in the picture, now, is there? So it’s not just your friends you’re protecting, it’s your family as well. Oh, now, that does raise the stakes, doesn’t it? I take it your mate is the little hunter that Namjoon went to visit. What was his name? Kyungsoo?” Jongin nodded slowly, and Seokjin smiled, holding back a chuckle. “That’s why you’re so willing, isn’t it? Because your mate has been threatened, and you don’t want anyone else to get hurt.” Jongin whined quietly, squirming in Seokjin’s makeshift cage. “I’ll give you a chance, sweet boy, to back out. If you don’t, I’ll tell you what I want, and you’ll do it for me, won’t you?”

“I will, I promise.”

Seokjin chuckled, leaned backwards, freeing Jongin. He touched a gentle hand to Jongin’s cheek, before stepping backwards. “Come. Let’s go somewhere private.”

***

Siwon woke up gasping and sobbing.

“Han Geng, get Leeteuk, but don’t let him in. Have Kibum charm the door, quickly. I need to keep human scent out of this room, at least until I’ve got him under control. As soon as that’s done, you can come back in.” Han Geng nodded quickly, left the room. Siwon whined quietly, and then Heechul had him in a gentle grip, holding him in place. “Shh, hush, you’re alright, I’m here, I’ve got you, you’re okay, it’s okay, breathe for me.” Siwon whined, as fire burned hot in his throat, and he squirmed, fighting Heechul’s grip. “I know, I know you can smell them, but Siwon, they’re your friends, so I need you to focus on me, on my voice. I’m right here, focus on me, Siwon.” Siwon whimpered quietly, when the door opened again, and then Han Geng was there, he knew that scent even from when he was human. “You remember how I held you?” Han Geng must have nodded, because then Siwon felt them shifting around him, and in seconds he was in Han Geng’s arms. “Would you like to feed him, or-”

“I can do it.” Han Geng slid a hand underneath Siwon’s jaw, redirecting his face towards his neck. “Right there, honey, go on.” After a moment, Siwon bit down, and Han Geng gasped, grip on Siwon temporarily tightening. “I love you, I love you so much, darling.” Han Geng was clinging, now, just as much as Siwon was, and then, after a few more moments, Heechul put a hand on the back of Siwon’s neck, and gently pulled him backwards. Siwon growled quietly, but Han Geng hushed him gently, pressed a gentle, fleeting kiss to his mouth, before pulling back. “Is he-”

“Not quite.” Heechul turned Siwon around, and then tilted his head back. Siwon didn’t hesitate to bite down, and Heechul smiled gently. “He’s lovely. I do like him, Han Geng, I don’t think I’ll hate him as my child.” Han Geng laughed quietly, nosed at the back of Siwon’s neck. “While he’s out of it, I know what Leeteuk asked you. I know what he’s been asking, Han Geng, and I do hope you’ve been telling the truth. I will not have my princess lied to.” Siwon felt Han Geng’s smile curve along the back of his neck. “Oh, there we go, Siwon. Han Geng, get the door. He’ll break through the bloodlust in a few seconds.”

Han Geng got to his feet, and moved quickly to let the hunters into the room. Siwon whined quietly, grip on Heechul tightening. “I, no, I don’t wanna hurt anyone-”

“I won’t let you, I promise.” After a moment, Heechul turned Siwon around, so he could face Leeteuk and Kibum and Seunghyun. “I won’t let you. You won’t hurt them, you have my word.”

Seunghyun made a quiet noise in his throat, and looked at his brother. “Siwon?” Siwon’s gaze snapped up to find Seunghyun’s eyes. “Oh, gods, Minho’s going to kill me.” Seunghyun ran a hand through his hair, and Leeteuk put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Ok. I’ll handle it.” A pause. “Take care of my brother, Heechul, or so help me, I will end you.”


	9. bleed

Stoic, angry silence filled the room.

Zitao was sitting in a wooden chair, head in his hands, decidedly not speaking. Lisa and Jennie both stood behind him, on either side, remaining silent and waiting for Zitao’s permission – or something of the like – before they even considered speaking. Kyungsoo had woken about an hour ago, and was seated on the couch, wrapped tightly in a blanket, Ryeowook hovering rather protectively behind him. Jaehwan was sitting in the corner, Minseok at his side, sleeping, leaning against the younger vampire. Luhan hadn’t moved from when he had last sat down at his desk, sour glare pinned on the door. They were waiting; for what, Zitao was unsure, and frankly, based on the look on Luhan’s face, he wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to know.

They all started when Yifan walked in, but he didn’t address any of them, merely handed a thin folder to Luhan, before leaving swiftly, clearly desperate to escape the tension in the room. Moments later, they heard shouting in the hallway, and Kyungsoo started, going still only when Ryeowook put a gentle hand on his shoulder. The shouting continued, words unintelligible for a few more seconds, and Ryeowook sighed quietly, closed his eyes, before a soft knock landed on the door, and the door opened slowly, revealing Hakyeon standing behind it, a panting, red-faced Yifan at his shoulder. “ _What_ are you doing here?”

Hakyeon stepped into the room, ignoring Ryeowook’s cut-off protest. “My children ran from me. I’ll be taking them back, now, thank you.” He hadn’t seen Jaehwan, and so his head snapped to the side, startled, when he heard the younger whine quietly. “Where’s Taekwoon?” No one answered, and Jaehwan whined again, pressed closer to Minseok’s sleeping form. “Jaehwan, where is he?” Jaehwan shook his head quickly, and Hakyeon bit his lower lip, drawing blood. “Who?”

Jaehwan looked up at him for a long time before he spoke, voice shaking. “Namjoon. Well, technically it was Jungkook, but Joon gave him the stake. And the order.” Hakyeon sighed quietly. “He forced Kyungsoo to invite them in, he was going to kill me, and then he hurt Kyungsoo, threatened all of us, and Jungkook was going to kill Jongin if I didn’t play nice, and kill me if Jongin or Kyungsoo didn’t place nice, and it was bad, Hakyeon, please promise me that you aren’t the reason that they’re _here_.”

Hakyeon held still for a split second, before his gaze found Luhan again. “Aren’t you supposed to be in charge?” Luhan nodded, after a moment of tense silence. “Then why hasn’t something been done? Your comrade, your hunter, was threatened, and you’ve done absolutely nothing, Luhan. If it’s a matter of strength, then tell me. I can help with those kinds of things. If it’s a matter of alliances, I can be flexible, when your people are threatened. And at this point, they’ve harmed your colleagues, and my children, and that is absolutely not okay. They have acted against their code, they have completely disregarded their own laws, and that will not stand.”

“I was under the impression that they were under your control.”

Hakyeon sighed. “Not…not entirely. They are my…colleagues. Compatriots. I ask things of them, and if they believe that that is in their own interests, they do it. But they are not mine, and they are not my personal guard, despite how things might look, depending on the year. Namjoon is their leader, yes, but I am inclined to believe that the eldest, Seokjin, might hold more sway in their decisions than Namjoon.” He paused, and looked at Jaehwan for a moment, before his eyes found Luhan again. “Why haven’t you done anything?”

“I have had other problems on my hands. Like insubordination from within my most trusted hunters. I cannot attack vampires or hunters when my own people are divided amongst themselves.” Zitao snorted, rolled his eyes, and Hakyeon glanced at him. “The Lady has been found guilty, and we are responsible for providing a replacement. As you very well know, female hunters are few and far between, so I asked my senior hunters to keep an eye out for anyone potentially interested. As it turns out, Zitao has been hiding these two…ugh, I hesitate to call them anything other than _vigilantes_ from us, and providing them with my resources. I will not tolerate secrecy amongst my most trusted.”

“Because you’re a fucking dumbass.”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t want to hear a word out of you.” Zitao growled, made to get to his feet, but Lisa put a hand on his shoulder, held him down. “You knew, when you were promoted, what this job would entail, what you would be responsible for, and you have failed, in your duties. If you cannot uphold the duty you have been given, you are welcome to leave this room immediately.” Zitao looked furious. “Kyungsoo, go fetch the senior hunters.” Kyungsoo didn’t move from where he was seated. “Kyungsoo.”

“You want me to summon the one senior hunter who’s here who isn’t in the room? Don’t waste your own time.” Luhan growled. “Oh, as if you didn’t know they were gone. You really think one visit to Heechul takes this long? You’re not an idiot, Luhan.” Luhan opened his mouth to say something, but Kyungsoo silenced him. “You knew that banning them from seeing their mates would only make things worse. You knew that because you told Siwon and Zitao that they couldn’t see Han Geng and Sehun, they were ten times as likely to do it. And you knew that trying to force Siwon out of his decision would only make him more incentivized to ask Heechul to turn him!” Everyone in the room went still, frozen in place. Kyungsoo swallowed, wrapped his arms around his legs, and then Ryeowook circled around the couch to stand beside Hakyeon.

“It’s too late, Luhan. There’s nothing you can do about it. Siwon is a vampire, and you can either stand by him, or divide the hunters forever.”

Ryeowook swallowed, put a hand on Hakyeon’s shoulder. His maker turned towards him, one eyebrow raised, and a silent message passed between them, one that Minseok could barely catch, whispered in their minds. _Where’s Jongin? Where is my youngest_? “He…” Ryeowook paused, swallowed hard, looked quickly at Kyungsoo, then Luhan, then at Hakyeon again. “He went to find Seokjin. I asked him to look for you, because I believed you might be able to stop Namjoon and his companions, but Jongin firmly believed that it wouldn’t work. He believed that Seokjin would be the only one who could stop them. He said he knew where Jin was.” Ryeowook was trembling, now, because he had seen the look in Hakyeon’s eyes at the mention of Seokjin, and he didn’t like it at all.

“So you don’t know where my darling youngest child is?” Ryeowook shook his head, and Hakyeon growled, shoved Ryeowook backwards. “Well, then, _little one_ , I would highly suggest that you _find_ him. I will not lose another child to Seokjin and his games.” Ryeowook nodded quickly, a silent _yes, sir_ going from his mind to Hakyeon’s. 

Kyungsoo pushed himself to stand, and looked quickly between Hakyeon and Luhan. “I’m going.” Ryeowook nodded, summoned Jaehwan forward with one finger. He rose to his feet, came to stand beside Ryeowook, avoiding Hakyeon’s gaze. _I want to go, too. For Taekwoon_. Ryeowook nodded again, then looked at Zitao quickly.

“We’ll take the girls as well. And Zitao, if he’s willing.”

Jennie seemed to take personal offence to that comment. “Are you saying I don’t get a choice? I might not be a real hunter, at least not to him,” she jerked her head to indicate Luhan, before she continued, “But I am still a hunter nonetheless. Both of us are. You’re looking for your stupid candidate, you have two options right here. Let us prove that we are here to help you, but do not for a second think that we are not able to make our own decisions.”

Luhan laughed, a cold and bitter and sarcastic laugh. “Oh, go on. If you want to go, if you want to fight, then fight, But do not mistake my allowance of this means anything for your chances at Court. Now get out of my sight, all of you. And Minseok, since you’re not busy, go find Heechul, and tell him that I’m going to _skin him alive_.”


	10. games

Jongin found himself sitting on a couch in what he assumed was the house that Seokjin and the others were currently living in, gazing at the vampire across from him. Seokjin wasn’t moving, was simply watching as Jongin shifted awkwardly, squirmed underneath his gaze. “I don’t…I don’t know. That’s something…I don’t know.” Seokjin raised an eyebrow. “I’d have to talk to him, obviously, I won’t make this decision without him.” Seokjin nodded once, and then got to his feet, came towards Jongin. After a few seconds of simply gazing at the younger vampire, he lowered himself down to straddle Jongin’s hips. “Seokjin, we can’t.” Seokjin simply chuckled, put his hands on Jongin’s shoulders. “We can’t.”

“Mm, we _can_ , you just don’t want to. You’re terrified, of what the others would think. Of what your _mate_ would think. You’re scared that he’d hate you, for doing this with me, but really, Jongin, you think he wouldn’t understand that you’re doing it to protect him? To protect all of them? I don’t know him, but I don’t believe he’s that stupid enough to ignore that you are protecting your family.” Jongin growled quietly, squirmed. “Oh, sweet boy, remember back when you were a newborn, and you wouldn’t feed unless I was there, because I was the one who made sure the humans wouldn’t cry when we bit them? Remember how much _trust_ there was? What happened to that, sweet boy? What happened to you trusting me to take care of you?”

“It ended almost as soon as Namjoon tried to kill my _mate_.” Seokjin laughed quietly, one hand brushing over Jongin’s cheek gently. “I don’t understand you. You say that you want me to be happy one second, and the next, you’re turning around and asking if you can make my mate your child.”

Seokjin grinned, a soft laugh leaving his lips when Jongin hissed at him. “I told you once, that success as a vampire came down to one thing. You remember what it was?”

“Power.”

“Oh, good.” Seokjin slid his hands underneath Jongin’s jaw, soft and gentle and dangerous. “You know that we’ve talked about this. About how the vampires are always at war with each other, how we’re always fighting, how no one, no matter how old, can be safe without constantly demonstrating their power. That’s why Hakyeon made Heechul, you know; not because he loved him, but because he wanted someone who would obey every order, could be molded into a monster who would do everything that Hakyeon asked, would kill anyone who got in his way. And just as he made Heechul, and all of you, I created the Red Wave. They are, have been, and always will be the extensions of my will, not only in my country, but around the entire world. Namjoon would have you believe that he is their leader, and to the outside world, it absolutely looks that way, but remember, sweet boy, that I created them. I have made them who they are.”

“Then why do you want Kyungsoo?”

“I’ve told you, sweet boy. Power. My darling Hakyeon believes he can cross me, can betray me; I’m here to prove that he’s wrong. He thinks himself more powerful than me, and that won’t stand. I will not have _children_ believing that they know more than I do. And that, sweet boy, is where Kyungsoo comes in.”

“You’re going to do to him what Hakyeon did to Heechul.”

“Mm, no. What Hakyeon did was messy, flawed. Shameful, even. He had the right idea, sweet boy, but he executed it horribly. It worked, for a while, and then Heechul realized that Hakyeon’s entire empire banked on him being a good little bitch. He had known Hakyeon was using him, but it wasn’t until Jongdae happened that Hakyeon started to drive Heechul away. That night that they came for you, that was the night when he finally confronted Hakyeon about it. About Jongdae.”

“So what do you intend to do with my mate?”

“Turn him. Make him one of us. And then use him. An extension of my will, like Namjoon and the others, but better. Stronger. Because I won’t be using his weaknesses to drive him, I’ll be using his strength. His mate. You.” Jongin made a quiet noise, looked away. “You want your friends alive, don’t you? Then you need to trust me.”

“Forgive me, I find that quite difficult at the moment. You’re going to make my mate a monster. You’re going to make him your weapon.”

“I am.” Seokjin leaned forward, to speak quietly in Jongin’s ear. “Surely you know by now that we are not here to hurt you. We are here for Hakyeon. He has crossed me for the last time, and it is time for him to end. He won’t speak to me, he won’t speak to us, and so I find myself with no choice but to destroy him in the one way he isn’t expecting. Through his children. Through you, and Jongdae, and Joonmyun, and Minseok, and Ryeowook, and Heechul. And that will be his punishment.”

“And once you’ve dealt with him? What happens to Kyungsoo? You’re just going to leave your little weapon behind, hating himself for what he is? He hates us, you know, hates what I am. He loves the venom, and he loves me, but he can’t stand the thought of being one of us. Your little plan will destroy him, and then you will be no better than Hakyeon himself. I would know; I watched him tear my family apart. I was there, as you stood by and watched him destroy us. I know you, I know that you are going to break my family.”

“Oh, but remember, sweet boy, you made a promise.”

“You will ruin him. He is not meant to be a vampire. He is not meant for this life, he is not meant to be one of the toys in your games.” Seokjin laughed quietly, nipped at Jongin’s ear. “I can’t do this to him. You want to ruin someone, ruin me.” Another quiet laugh, as Seokjin mouthed at Jongin’s neck.

“Mm, smart little boy. I taught you so well. Child after my own heart, aren’t you?” Jongin whimpered quietly, when Seokjin bit down on his neck, drawing blood. “You’ve given me an idea, sweet boy.” Jongin squirmed, and then Seokjin laughed, grip tightening. “If you won’t let me have Kyungsoo, I won’t help you.” Seokjin got to his feet, and walked towards the kitchen. Jongin followed quickly, stopped Seokjin with a hand on his elbow.

“Please don’t. I need your help. Please. I…I’ll talk to Kyungsoo.” Seokjin didn’t speak, as he broke out of Jongin’s grip, continued forward. “Seokjin, _please_ , my family needs you.” Jongin pulled his phone out of his pocket, and dialed Kyungsoo’s number quickly. “Please, let me talk to him. Seokjin, please, I need your help, we need your help.” Seokjin simply held still, watched Jongin in silence as the younger vampire raised his phone to his ear. “Kyungsoo? Hey, baby, I need to talk to you. It’s…no, I need to speak to you in private.” A pause, as Kyungsoo spoke. “What do you mean, you- no, Kyungsoo, you…stop. No. No, baby, listen to me, I’m fine. But you guys can’t- no, stop, listen to me, don’t talk while I’m talking to you.” Kyungsoo growled at him, and Jongin sighed quietly. “No, honey, I know, I know.” A long silence, and Jongin looked at Seokjin rather desperately. “Oh, seriously? You’re listening to Hakyeon? Are you…look, tell Ryeowook that I’m fine, tell him that I need to speak to you alone. Please. Just…no, baby, listen to me, please. I know him, he saved my life when I was a newborn.” A long silence, in which Kyungsoo was speaking angrily to Jongin. “Baby, I know, please trust me. I love you, I miss you, I’m trying to protect you, and our family.”

“Let me talk to him.” Seokjin held out his hand, and Jongin handed the phone over. “Mm, Kyungsoo. Lovely to finally speak to you. My name is Seokjin, I’m here with Jonginnie right now, and we’d like to have a word with you.” A quiet pause. “Oh, no no no, I’m not threatening him. I’m threatening anyone else who you bring with you. So unless you’d like to lose one senior hunter, two potential candidates for Lady, Yesung’s mate, and the second half of Taekwook and Jaehwan’s partnership…well, I suggest you’d rethink your little plan.”

Seokjin smiled as Kyungsoo spoke, a predatory little glint in his eyes. “Oh, you’re adorable. Yes, darling, I’m sure we’ll be alone. No, I won’t hurt your sweet vampire. Yes, I’ll keep you safe. Yes, I promise I won’t kill anyone, so long as you don’t bring any of them with you. I just want to speak with you and Jongin, and that’s all.” Seokjin laughed quietly. “Oh, lovely. I’ll see you in…mm, yes, about an hour. Thank you, dearest.”


	11. beloved

Kibum jumped when Youngbae appeared at his side, but didn’t speak to the vampire, kept his gaze straight ahead, even when Youngbae sat down beside him. “Heechul warned me that you’d be upset, when you saw Siwon’s mind. When you heard it. The bloodlust.” Kibum didn’t answer, fingers toying with the rock in his hand. “I know that you hate what we are. What I am. And I thought, Kibum, that you’d be able to see past that, when you look at me. That you’d be able to see past the vampire, and see me for who I am.” Kibum nodded once. “I had hoped that you might give me a chance. That’s all I wanted, Kibum, was a chance.”

“I have been alive for more than 500 years. I’ve known so many vampires, in that time, and they might have been different people, Youngbae, but they had one thing in common.” Kibum paused, ran a hand through his hair. “You spill enough blood, Youngbae, and any vampire’s control will break, no matter how old they are. Whether it’s Han Geng, or Heechul, or Hakyeon, or Seokjin, you all have the same weakness.” Kibum put his head in his hands. “And I have known so many vampires, who swore they’d never hurt me.” After a moment, he got to his feet, and tugged his shirt over his head. Youngbae watched, entranced, and then flinched when he saw the scars. “And the one thing that they all had in common, Youngbae, was that when it came down to it, their control was never enough to hold them back.” Youngbae nodded slowly. “I wanted to give you a chance, I really did. And I tried, believe me, but then I saw Han Geng’s mind, and now I’ve seen Siwon’s. They were amazing hunters, wonderful people, and even when they’re lucid, all they can think about is the _blood_. You know what happens, when a human and a vampire get too close. You’ve seen it, and you’ve done it. And I’m sorry, Youngbae, and it might sound selfish, but I will not put myself at risk like that.”

“You saw that?”

“I’ve seen everything. Everyone that you’ve hurt. I’ve seen them, I’ve heard them, and the funny part is, Youngbae, they don’t _hate_ you. They love you, even now, even after you killed them. I won’t…I won’t be another name on your list. I won’t be like Heechul was for Hakyeon.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.” Kibum pulled his shirt back on, and took about three steps away from Youngbae, before he spoke again. “I’m sorry too, you know, that this…this doesn’t work. Won’t work. I wish I could have given you a chance. I tried, you know. I tried as hard as I could. But there’s too much…there’s too much death in your past. And I’ve met too many vampires like you to believe that any relationship between us would end well, because I can guarantee that it won’t.” He paused, bit his lip. “I’m sorry.” Youngbae got to his feet, didn’t say a word to Kibum as he walked back towards the house. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

***

“Minho?”

The hunter sighed quietly, ran a hand through his hair. “What, Taemin?” He sounded aggressive, angry, but he didn’t apologize. “If you’re here to tell me that Siwon has turned, I’ve already heard. And I’m not interested in talking about it.” Taemin put a gentle hand on Minho’s back, but the hunter flinched away, moved out of his reach. “Don’t touch me.” Taemin made a quiet noise in his throat, and Minho sighed again.

“You’re upset.” Minho rolled his eyes, still not looking at Taemin. “Please don’t be angry with me. I’m not the one who turned him. It wasn’t my idea. And I know I didn’t tell you, but Minho, you of all people should understand loyalty. It’s one of the most important parts of being a hunter, even I know that, and I couldn’t just…just go around spouting the secrets that the others asked me to keep.” Taemin’s lower lip trembled, and Minho could tell he was on the verge of tears. “Siwon had the exact same experience with vampires as you did, when you were kids.”

“I _know_ , Taemin.”

“You love me, right?” Minho didn’t answer. “Minho, please, I…please tell me that you love me. I don’t want to keep thinking that you do, if you don’t. Don’t lie to me. Just…please, I just want the truth. I want to know if you don’t love me, so I can stop wasting my time.”

Minho turned quickly, to gaze at Taemin. “You think this is a waste of time?” Taemin didn’t answer, as Minho took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I know…I know you didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t thinking, I’m sorry.” Taemin nodded once. “Hey, come here.” He held his arms out, and after a few seconds of silence, Taemin stepped into them, allowed Minho to pull him into a hug. “I’m sorry.” Taemin sniffled quietly, and Minho pressed his lips together. Shit. “Hey, baby, shh, I’m sorry, I’ve got you.”

Over Taemin’s shoulder, Minho spotted Han Geng, standing in the shadows, and sighed quietly. “Hey, baby, come on, let’s get you to bed.”

“Don’t leave me.”

“I have one thing I need to do, and then I’ll be right there, okay?” Taemin seemed to deem that compromise satisfactory, as he allowed Minho to lead him away.

When the hunter returned, Han Geng spoke, voice quiet. “Your brothers want to speak with you.”

“Well, you’re more than welcome to inform them that that won’t be happening anytime soon, because, quite frankly, I don’t want to _think_ about them, much less have to see their faces or hear their voices. Thank you, Han Geng, but no thank you.” He turned to go back inside, but Han Geng stopped him with a hand on his elbow. “Don’t touch me. Don’t you dare touch me, unless you want a stake buried through your heart.”

“Siwon would kill you.”

Minho rolled his eyes. “Then I’d stake him too.” Han Geng made a quiet noise in his throat. “I know that you know what happened when I was a kid. To my parents. And as much as I’d like for those problems to be solved as easily as Siwon’s seem to have been, that’s not how it works. You – and no one, for that matter – can expect me to get over that many years of pain that quickly. So, you can tell my brothers that if they want to come see me, they’re out of luck. I don’t want to see them.”

Minho turned on his heel, walked inside, and slammed the door shut behind him.

***

Ryeowook realized, as soon as he collided with the bookshelf, that maybe coming back without Kyungsoo _or_ Jongin would give Hakyeon the wrong idea. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Kyungsoo told me he’d be fine, he said he’d take care of this, Hakyeon, I’m sorry, please, stop, you know that if I had gone in there, it only would have gotten us killed, Hakyeon, please, I’m _sorry_!” Hakyeon wrapped a hand around Ryeowook’s throat, squeezed tightly.

“Are you really, though? Are you really sorry, little one, or are you just glad that you got out of there without getting hurt, without having to face Seokjin? I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter; that you didn’t want to go in there, that you’re glad only Jongin and Kyungsoo were lost in that little disaster.” Ryeowook shook his head quickly, squirming in Hakyeon’s grip. “After all that time that I put into you, all those hours and days and weeks and months that I poured into making you happy, and this is how you repay my kindness? By leaving my youngest to die?”

“I didn’t leave him to _die_ , Hakyeon, I don’t-” Ryeowook cut off when Hakyeon’s grip tightened, before he was able to speak again. “I wouldn’t. He’s my brother, and I love him, but I also trust him to take care of himself! He’s not a newborn anymore, and he knows Seokjin more than any of us, and I’m willing to bet that he knows him better than you do!” Hakyeon growled quietly. “Please trust him, Hakyeon, please, I think he knows what he’s doing, and I trust that he and Kyungsoo can take care of themselves. You and I both know that Jongin is more than capable of protecting himself – he proved that every time he bit you – and we also know that Seokjin loves him, as much as you do. If anyone can keep Seokjin from hurting people, it’s Jongin.”

Ryeowook stopped speaking when Heechul walked into the room. Hakyeon went perfectly still, and before Ryeowook knew he had moved, Hakyeon had Heechul pinned to the wall. “Do you know what your brother is doing?”

“I do. Yifan called, gave me the run-down on what was happening.” Hakyeon snarled, fangs bared. “Hey, enough. Put those away.” Hakyeon didn’t. “Alright. Fine. Be that way. But know this, Hakyeon; we all remember how Seokjin helped Jongin, and we all saw how Jongin helped Seokjin. Have some face in him; he isn’t stupid, he’s been doing just fine for the past hundred years. He can take care of himself. He’s more than capable.” Hakyeon hissed quietly, and Heechul shoved him away. “And you know that Seokjin won’t kill him.”

“Tell me you’ve heard about Kyungsoo.”

“Yes. Again, I trust him to take care of himself. He’s a hunter, he knows what he’s doing, and if you really wanted to stop him, you’d have to kill him.”

A soft whine from Jaehwan, reminding them all that he was standing in the corner, trying to press himself into the wall. “Come here, sweetheart.” Jaehwan obeyed quickly, made his way into Heechul’s arms. “I’m sorry.” Jaehwan nodded once, and pressed his face into Heechul’s shoulder, ignoring Hakyeon. “Go find Kyuhyun and Donghae. Have them take you to Seunghyun’s house, alright?”

Jaehwan nodded again, and slipped out of the room, leaving Heechul alone with Ryeowook and Hakyeon. “They’ll be alright, Hakyeon. If you won’t trust Ryeowook when he says that, trust me. You and I know Jongin. And we know that he can handle himself.”

“Be that as it may-”

“No. You aren’t going to go after him. We’re trying for diplomacy, here, and Jongin is our best option to do that. I don’t trust a hunter on their own with Seokjin, not if he doesn’t know them, and he hates most of us. Jongin’s probably the only exception.”

“He’s going to get himself killed.”

“No, he won’t. He’s a smart kid. He was trained by the best.”


	12. maker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this is long.
> 
> Also this chapter kinda sorta mentions some of the things from the second part of the Super Extra Sweet Love One-Shots but you don't need to have read them in order to understand what's going on.

Jongin had only seen Kyungsoo angry on a few occasions, and the look on his face right now far surpassed anger. He was pissed, upset, furious, at the idea that Seokjin had proposed. Jongin liked it about as much as he did, but somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew – and he was pretty sure that Kyungsoo knew – that they were doing it to protect the others. Jongin had been pacing, ever since Kyungsoo had sat down in front of Seokjin, as the elder of the two vampires had gone through the entirety of his plan with Kyungsoo. He had only stopped when Seokjin had finished, and was currently leaning against the wall, sour gaze fixed on the back of Seokjin’s head. Slowly, Kyungsoo leaned forward, braced his forearms on his knees, gaze never leaving Seokjin’s eyes. “So, what I understand from this – and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, either of you – is that you want to make me a vampire, so that you can make me into your version of what Heechul was for Hakyeon, so you can go after your child, and punish him for ‘crossing’ you?” Seokjin nodded once. “Explain to me exactly what he did to you.”

Jongin sighed silently, ran a hand through his hair. Vampire politics were the actual worst. His hands clenched into fists for a brief second, before relaxing, and he closed his eyes, trying to focus on what Seokjin was saying. “Hakyeon is not my eldest child, but he is not the youngest, either. He and his siblings have each been gifted a piece of my territory, and, in turn, were gifted control of that piece of territory. However, their control is entirely contingent on their ability to take care of it, and the humans who live there. In this, Hakyeon has failed.

“Furthermore, he slaughtered one of his siblings, and all of his brother’s children, and their mates, and many of the hunters who lived in that territory. That was the piece of territory that he gave to Heechul, years ago. I understand that he and his brother were fighting, and that his brother attacked first, which did give Hakyeon the right to kill him and do what he pleased with the land; however, I did ask my children that they speak to me, before resorting to violence. We ourselves had a code, of sorts, and I was under the impression that he trusted my judgement, when it came to these kinds of matters.”

“What do you mean, he failed to take care of the humans?”

Seokjin smiled fondly at Kyungsoo. “I don’t know if you’ve realized, Kyungsoo, but if you’ve read the news for the past few weeks, you’d know that there have been repeated homicides in neighboring cities. And all of that goes back to one person, the one person who I put in charge of those cities and towns.” Kyungsoo leaned backwards, exhaling quietly. “He has, and still does, flippantly disregard human life, so very often. I don’t think he remembers that we were all human once, with few exceptions.” Kyungsoo nodded slowly, rubbed absently at tired eyes. “You understand, I hope, that what he is doing cannot continue. I cannot allow my child to treat your people the way he has been. It’s unacceptable. I will not tolerate this. And I will stop him, in any manner that I know how.”

“Even if it includes hurting more people, just to get to him?”

Seokjin turned to look at Jongin. “I will hurt the people he cares about, to get to him, if that’s what it takes. If I must destroy Heechul and his other children in order to get him to listen to me, then I will. I’ve been alive too long, Jongin, to have any sense of a moral compass, but trust me when I say that I don’t want to hurt you any more than is immediately necessary. So, given that explanation, you understand my predicament. I must get my child to listen, but I do not want to hurt more individuals than I must in this. You understand, I hope, why I have asked of you what I have.”

Jongin nodded slowly. “Yes. He…I’m his favorite. Heechul’s. And Heechul is Hakyeon’s favorite. I’m a direct line, from you to Hakyeon.” Seokjin smiled gently at Jongin. “And you want Kyungsoo, because he…he’s my mate. If you have him, you have me, and if you have me, you have Heechul, and if you have Heechul, you have Hakyeon.” 

“Oh, very good. I trained you so well, sweet boy.” Jongin looked away quickly. “That brings us back to the matter at hand, does it not?” He looked at Kyungsoo, who had drawn his knees up to his chest. “I will not turn you, without your consent. I will not hurt you, or your mate, in that way.”

Kyungsoo looked skeptical. “And when you’ve finished here, with Hakyeon? What happens to me?” Seokjin didn’t have a chance to speak, before Kyungsoo continued. “If you intend…if you plan, in any way, shape, or form, on leaving me behind, lost in a fucking blood-daze-”

“I would never.” Seokjin’s voice carried so much weight that it shut Kyungsoo right up. “My children are my darlings. I do not abandon them. If you go on some crazy bender, Kyungsoo, that reflects on me. And as selfish as that sounds, it means that I will do everything in my power to make sure that you feed _properly_ , that you know how to take care of yourself as a vampire, and it also means that I do not leave any child of mine until I know that they are ready to face the vampire world on their own.”

Slowly, Jongin moved to stand behind Seokjin, put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “He’s not a bad person, Kyungsoo. And I…I don’t want my opinion on this to change your decision, but I want you to know that when he says he won’t abandon you, if you go through with this, he means it.”

Seokjin nodded once, as he watched Kyungsoo, carefully. The hunter swallowed hard, ran a hand through his hair. “My friends, the other hunters, they’re…they’re my family. They are the most important things in my life.”

“I know.” Jongin’s voice was quiet, broken, and he could hear Seokjin speaking gently inside of his head. _He reminds me of you, sweet boy, afraid to hurt anyone with your choices, afraid that you’ll lose your family_.

“I don’t want…I don’t want them to get hurt. And with what’s happening, with Siwon and Zitao and now Leeteuk, they _hate_ vampires.” Jongin nodded slowly. “Alright. Fine. Fine. I’ll do it. Just…promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“Tell me.”

Kyungsoo took a deep breath, broke eye contact with Jongin, and looked at Seokjin. “Swear to me that you won’t fuck around with your stupid compulsion. Not on me. Jongin used it once, and that was the single worst experience of my life. I don’t want that. Never.” Seokjin nodded slowly. “And promise me, Seokjin, that if I don’t make it out of this _thing_ alive, that you will take care of my mate.”

“You have my word.”

Kyungsoo nodded slowly, and then reached out for Jongin. The younger of the two vampires came towards him, and, when Kyungsoo motioned, lowered himself into his lap. After a moment, Kyungsoo spoke, voice quiet. “Does it hurt?”

“Yes.” Kyungsoo nodded once. “It burns. It tears you apart on the inside, and then puts you back together. It’s horrible. And it doesn’t get easier, when you wake up. There’s fire, in your throat.” His hand came up to brush over Kyungsoo’s neck. “That never fully fades. It gets easier to deal with, as you get older. But when you’re newborn…any little thing can set you off. Your senses are so sensitive. I remember…when I was newborn, two or three weeks, maybe, Heechul bit a human – without fangs, but he drew blood – on the other side of the castle, and I lost it.” Seokjin hummed quietly, remembering the scene.

“Han Geng-”

“Is Han Geng. We’re all different, when we turn. He had remarkable self-control, for a newborn, and even now. But Seokjin’s good with newborns. He stayed with me for…what, three years?” Seokjin hummed in affirmation. “And I’ll be there too. I won’t leave, unless I have to.” Kyungsoo swallowed hard, and Jongin slid his hand under the hunter’s jaw. “You’ll make it through this. I know you will. You’re strong.”

Seokjin got to his feet, and left the room, leaving the pair alone, as Jongin continued. “When I was a newborn, I was…it was bad. I was so resistant to the idea of biting a human, I wouldn’t feed. The only time I did was when Hakyeon or Heechul literally forced me to do it, and that wasn’t often, because a lot of the time, I wouldn’t look at them. Even when they managed to do it, vampire blood doesn’t carry even _half_ of the power of human blood.” Kyungsoo slid an arm around Jongin’s waist, pulled him closer. “It got to be such a problem, after two weeks, that Hakyeon called Seokjin to help. And Namjoon was the first human I’d ever bitten, but even he couldn’t get me to calm down. And then Seokjin came along. He taught me almost everything that I know about being a vampire, and I don’t believe that he wouldn’t do the same thing for you. I know him. I trust him, most of the time, and I know that he will help you through this, if only to serve his own purpose.”

A long moment of silence, and then Seokjin spoke, from where he stood in the doorway, voice soft and gentle. “It’s impossible to judge how long a vampire will take before they’re able to be around humans, but if I had to guess, based on what I know about Han Geng’s turning, and Jongin’s…Kyungsoo, I’d wager that you’d be much, _much_ closer to the Han Geng end of the scale.” Jongin smiled softly. “Jongin never consented to his turning, he didn’t want to be a vampire, he hated us, and himself, for years. And his maker never taught him that we don’t have to hurt humans, or kill them, in order to feed.” Jongin laughed, as he got to his feet. “You have my word, no compulsion. And I will take care of you. You are my child, as soon as my fangs sink into your neck, and I do not ever leave my children behind.” Seokjin extended one hand, and, after a moment of hesitation, Kyungsoo took it, allowed the elder vampire to help him to his feet. “Jongin is correct, it will hurt. So much more than you can imagine. I have felt it, in every one of my children’s mind, when they turned. And Jongin is living proof that your screams are no indicator of your chances of waking up. Hakyeon used to believe that they were, he had his children convinced that they were. They didn’t think Jongin would wake.

“Hakyeon didn’t. He didn’t think he should. Trust me when I say, Kyungsoo, you can scream as much as you need to. The venom quite literally kills you from the inside out. Everything that is living inside of you will die.” Kyungsoo was trembling, and Jongin put a gentle hand on the small of his back. “We will be here for you, the entire time. We will be here when you wake up. It will burn, but I need you to remember to focus, on me, or on Jongin, your choice.

“Okay.” Kyungsoo’s voice was trembling, and Jongin could smell the fear on him.

“Oh, my sweet, darling child. You’re so very brave.”

“I love you.” Jongin pressed his noise into Kyungsoo’s shoulder, inhaled, and Seokjin laughed quietly. “I love you so much.” A soft whimper left Kyungsoo’s lips, as Seokjin moved closer.

“Take a deep breath for me, Kyungsoo, my darling child.” Kyungsoo obeyed, sucking in a long, slow breath, holding it for a few moments, before he released, slowly. Almost as soon as Seokjin felt his body go pliant, he moved forward, fangs sinking into Kyungsoo’s throat. He made a quiet noise, that cut off into a gasp that quickly transformed into a sigh as Seokjin’s venom – more powerful than Jongin’s would ever be – worked its way quickly through his blood. Jongin pressed a gentle kiss to the other side of his neck, and stroked a gentle hand over his back.

They both felt it when Seokjin quite literally sucked the life out of Kyungsoo. The hunter went limp, almost fell, but for Jongin’s grip on his body. Carefully, he lifted the hunter into his arms, and allowed Seokjin to lead him down a long hallway, and into a bedroom. He lowered Kyungsoo onto the bed, and then looked at Seokjin, eyes wide. “Shh, hush, sweet boy. Patience. We’ll know within the hour, whether or not he’ll make it.” Jongin nodded, stepped closer to the elder. “I know. I know you’re scared, but trust me in this, trust me the way you used to. He will not be neglected, he will not be a monster. I won’t let him kill anyone.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything for my sweet boy.”

***

Jongin didn’t protest when Seokjin pulled him down into his lap, held him close. “I know you’re scared. I know. I can feel it, I can see it.” Jongin hummed softly, head resting on Seokjin’s shoulder. “Shh, sweet boy, breathe.” Jongin whined quietly, clinging to Seokjin’s shirt. It would leave wrinkles, and Seokjin would be a little bit salty about it later, but Jongin couldn’t bring himself to care, not now, not when he could feel the fear radiating through the air, rolling off of his mate’s body. “Oh, sweet boy.”

“He’s hurting.”

“Yes.” Seokjin stroked a hand down Jongin’s back. “They always do. I’ve been doing this for a long time, sweet boy, they always hurt. And sweet boy, he’s not hurting as much as he could be. It would be a lot worse.” Jongin whined quietly, wound his arms around Seokjin’s neck. “I know that that’s not much of a consolation, because I can feel his pain just as much as you can.” Jongin nodded, pressed his face into Seokjin’s neck. “If you need to feed, sweetheart, I’d do it now, before he wakes up.” Jongin was quick to bite down, fangs sliding into Seokjin’s skin. “Mm, sweet boy. I’d forgotten how desperate you can get.”

Jongin pulled back, pouting. “Shut up.” Seokjin chuckled quietly, fingers gentle on his skin.

_Remember when you were young, and angry? When you wouldn’t let Hakyeon or Heechul or any of them touch you? When you cried because Namjoon practically forced you to bite him? I was there, I was listening. You were so angry, so scared, so_ furious _at what he did, and as soon as I made him to let you go, you ran for your life. You hid, remember? You hid from us, and I found you_.

“Stop, stop, don’t _talk_ about that, no-”

_Breathe. Breathe. You can do it, we can get you through this_. Jongin whined, and in the back of his mind, he recognized that he was tearing Seokjin’s shirt, but he didn’t care, he was too focused on the fact that all he could think about was that night, the feelings only made worse by the fear in the air. _You have to tackle it eventually, sweet boy. Better now, when I’d rather you think about this than obsess over the fear_. Jongin was shaking, whining softly. _Sweet boy, focus, you can do it. We can get you through this. I just need you to focus_.

“No, no, Seokjin, I can’t, no-”

“You can’t, sweet boy, or you won’t?”

Jongin went perfectly still in Seokjin’s grip, not blinking, not breathing. He was pouting, and after a moment, Seokjin swiped his thumb over his lip. Jongin pulled quickly out of his reach, still not making a sound. After about a minute of simply gazing at Seokjin, he exhaled, nostrils flaring. “Either. Both. Yes.” He was trembling again, and Seokjin pressed his lips together, his worry beginning to creep up on him. He couldn’t afford Jongin getting into _that_ particular headspace right now, not with Kyungsoo less than an hour away from – hopefully – starting to scream. “No. I don’t want to talk about it, or think about it, or whatever. Not today, not now-”

“Yes now. After today, sweet boy, we’re going to be busy with Kyungsoo. You aren’t getting out of this that easily.” Jongin whined, not fully processing the fact that Seokjin’s shirt was completely gone, and that his hands were running over the smooth planes of the elder vampire’s chest. “Focus on me. Look at me, Jonginnie.” Jongin’s gaze snapped up, so their eyes could meet. “I’ve never had to compel you, sweet boy, I don’t want to start now. But if we don’t do this now, sweet boy, if you don’t choose to do this, then sweetheart, I might have to.”

“No, no, _no_ -”

“Then you’d best focus, sweet boy.” Jongin whimpered, looked away, but seconds later, Seokjin grabbed his jaw, turned his head back so their eyes could meet. “Eyes. On. Me. Don’t look away. Focus on me, sweet boy, let me help you.” Jongin whined, rolled his hips, and Seokjin’s free hand came down to grab his hipbone, holding him in place. “Hold still, sweetheart. I’m going to help you, you’re going to get through this, but I need you to trust me.”

“I do.” Seokjin raised an eyebrow. “I do, I promise, I just…Seokjin, it _hurts_ to think about that-” Before he could finish, Seokjin had grabbed his wrists, held his hands still, allowed his thoughts to cloud into Jongin’s mind, forcing everything else to the back of the younger vampire’s mind.

***

It had been three days, and in those three days, too much had happened. Jongin hadn’t stopped crying for more than an hour at a time. He had only left Seokjin’s side, or rather, his lap, to check on Kyungsoo. He could tell that Seokjin would need to feed soon, just based on how many times Jongin had bitten him, but he also knew that the elder wasn’t planning on leaving the room, much less the house, anytime soon. They had gotten through the memories, with a lot of crying and complaining and touching. Seokjin’s grip had kept Jongin from moving throughout the entire painful process, for which Jongin was grateful, at least now. As much as he had bitched about it before and during, once they had gotten through it, he had realized that it had been worth it.

“You need to feed.”

Seokjin sniffed quietly, pushed himself into a seated position, as Jongin crawled into his lap. “I’m fine.” Jongin exhaled, nostrils flaring. “I’m not going to leave, not until I know that you’ve got at least a little bit of a handle on him. I can’t risk him waking up when I’m not here to help him.”

“Seokjin-” The elder shot him a look, but Jongin ignored the implications of that look. “You have to feed. I know you won’t let him bite me, when he wakes up, which means he has to bite you, and you’ve fed me too much for that to be plausible.” Seokjin sighed quietly. “Go. If he wakes up, I can keep him calm until you get home. And if that means holding him down until you get back, then I’ll do it. I won’t let him hurt anyone.” Seokjin shook his head. “You wanted me to trust you, fine. Now I’m asking you to trust me.” After a few seconds, the elder vampire got to his feet, stroked a gentle hand down Jongin’s face before he nodded, and walked out of the room.

***

Kyungsoo woke up crying. Before long, there were hands on his body, pulling him tight against a warm body. “Shh, baby, it’s me. Breathe, breathe, I’m here, I’ve got you.” Kyungsoo whimpered quietly, hands sliding down Jongin’s chest. “I know, breathe for me, I’ve got you, I won’t let you go.” Kyungsoo was clinging now, holding tight to Jongin’s shirt, face pressed into his neck. “Shh, hush, you’re alright. I’ve got you, darling.”

“I-I…I…” He trailed off, and Jongin could feel his fangs, little bumps underneath his lips. “It _hurts_ -” He cut off with a gasp, and Jongin’s grip tightened. “Help me, please, Jongin, make it stop hurting, it _burns_ -” After a moment – of listening intently for Seokjin’s return – Jongin tipped his head back, and after a few seconds of confusion, Kyungsoo sank his fangs into his neck. Jongin whined quietly, grip tight on Kyungsoo’s waist.

Kyungsoo didn’t notice when Seokjin returned, not until the elder threaded his fingers into Kyungsoo’s hair and pulled him backwards, fixing an angry glare on Jongin. Jongin whimpered softly, looked away, but before he could apologize, Kyungsoo had pulled out of Seokjin’s grip, and hissed at him, a soft growl in the back of his throat. Seokjin growled back, and Jongin whined, pulling backwards. Kyungsoo didn’t move, glare fixed on Seokjin. “Jongin-”

“He was going to cry, Seokjin, I couldn’t just let him _cry_ , I waited as long as I could, I’m sorry-” Seokjin silenced him with a look, as he gazed at Kyungsoo, who, after a few more moments, went limp, leaning backwards into Jongin’s grip. “You don’t have to be an ass about it. I’m fine.”

After a moment, Seokjin let it go – at least for now – and tipped his own head backwards. Kyungsoo practically lunged towards him, sank his fangs greedily into Seokjin’s neck. “Don’t think that this conversation is over, Jongin. We’ll be finishing this discussion when Kyungsoo goes to bed.” Jongin nodded slowly in understanding, hands stroking absently over Kyungsoo’s back. “Ah, he’s greedy. Just like you, once you let go. Mm, you two are perfect for each other.” Jongin whined quietly, pressed a kiss to the back of Kyungsoo’s neck. “Alright, Kyungsoo, it’s time for bed.” Kyungsoo whined, not releasing Seokjin’s neck. Seokjin rolled his eyes, and grabbed the back of Kyungsoo’s neck, fingers digging into his muscles. After a moment, Kyungsoo released, with a gasp, and Seokjin pulled him backwards. “There you go, darling child, relax. Time for bed.”

Kyungsoo whimpered quietly, reached out for Jongin as Seokjin lowered him onto the bed. Jongin exchanged a look with Seokjin, and he nodded once. As soon as Kyungsoo was settling under the covers, Jongin joined him, pulled Kyungsoo up against his body. “We’ll talk in the morning.” Jongin nodded. “Good night. Dream good dreams, my sweet boy, my darling child.”


	13. heal

When Eunhyuk woke up, he had a sleeping Donghae beside him, face pressed into his shoulder, one hand gripping Eunhyuk’s arm, the other slung across his stomach. He was breathing quietly, and every few breaths or so, a soft little whimper of a noise would leave his throat. His fingers were soft, gentle, on Eunhyuk’s skin, and after a few seconds, Eunhyuk sighed quietly. They had actually done that last night, hadn’t they? Slowly, he rolled onto his side, careful not to disturb that peaceful, pretty look on Donghae’s face, and he gazed at the vampire for a long moment. After a while, he raised his hand, fingertips touching Donghae’s skin gently, almost nervous. Which was ridiculous, the fact that he was _nervous_ , after what they had done last night, but Eunhyuk couldn’t help the way his fingertips trembled as they moved slowly across Donghae’s skin, tracing his cheekbones, eyebrows, lips.

“Good morning, my sweet blossom.” Eunhyuk squeaked quietly, tried to move away, but Donghae simply pulled him closer, pressed his face further into Eunhyuk’s skin. “You’re so very beautiful in the mornings.” Eunhyuk smiled softly, still trying to squirm out of Donghae’s grip. “Oh, sweet blossom, such a pretty little human.”

“’m not.”

“What?”

“I’m not… _pretty_.” His upper lip curled, and Donghae sighed quietly, pulled back just far enough to look Eunhyuk in the eyes. “I’m _not_ , don’t look at me like that.” Donghae didn’t speak, for a few seconds, which gave Eunhyuk the opportunity to continue. “I mean, honestly, just look at me. I’m not…no. I’m not pretty, Donghae; you have eyes, you can see that.” And he sounded so horribly upset, like he really believed that he wasn’t pretty, Donghae really found himself faced with two options. They could talk through this, or – and Donghae wasn’t going to lie and say that he didn’t find this option as appealing as the first – he could do what he was good at, and fuck the message into Eunhyuk. “What are you thinking about? You have your thinking face on.”

“I’m curious.” Eunhyuk raised an eyebrow, as Donghae moved. “As to why a pretty little flower like you thinks he’s not, well, pretty.” Eunhyuk rolled his eyes, looked away. “Sweet blossom, I think you’re very pretty.” Eunhyuk shook his head. “You disagree? You don’t think that I should think that?” After a moment, Eunhyuk nodded. “Let me prove that I love you, that you’re such a beautiful little flower. Please?” Eunhyuk pouted, and Donghae touched a hand to his face, gentle. “Oh, sweet flower, let me love you, please. I’ll be a good boy, blossom, I promise.” Eunhyuk looked hesitant to concede, so Donghae continued. “Please, pretty flower? We had so much fun last night, would you like to do something like that again?” That time, Eunhyuk rolled his eyes, and, while he was distracted, Donghae kissed him gently, fingers stroking absently at his neck.

“Alright, alright, fine. Fine. Whatever.”

Donghae grinned, leaned forward to kiss Eunhyuk once more, before his mouth slid down to the hunter’s jawline, pressing soft, sweet, chaste little kisses there, fingers sliding down to brush over Eunhyuk’s stomach. “It’s so strange, you know, holding something that breathes. Every part of you is always moving, even when you think you’re not. Even when you think you’ve gone still, you’re still moving.” Eunhyuk made a quiet noise in his throat, squirmed when Donghae mouthed at his neck. “You know I’d never bite, without your consent. You know I’m not like that.” Eunhyuk nodded slowly, gasped when Donghae nibbled at his collarbone. “I love your scent. You always smell so good, sweet flower.”

“What do I smell like, to you?”

“Mm, like roses and mint and, ah, when you’ve gotten back from a hunt, I can smell steel on you, and usually that isn’t appealing, my blossom, but on you…mm, I don’t know if you could ever smell unappealing.” Eunhyuk blushed, turned his head to the side. “And if you’ve killed a vampire, I can smell their blood on you, faint, but it’s definitely there. It’s so sweet, my darling flower, you always smell so sweet and lovely.” Eunhyuk was shaking, now, trembling as Donghae continued, kissing a path down the center of Eunhyuk’s ribcage. “And when Taemin hugged you – remember that, sweet flower? – I could smell him on you for _weeks_.”

“And did that make you angry, love, to know that another vampire had touched me? That I allowed your sweet, darling little brother to give me a hug?”

Donghae growled quietly, mouth stopping in the center of Eunhyuk’s stomach. “Do you really need me to answer that question for you? Surely your extensive knowledge of vampire scenting hasn’t failed you yet.” Eunhyuk laughed quietly, threaded his fingers through Donghae’s hair, tugged gently. “I told him off, you know, for touching you.”

“Ah, Donghae, don’t be rude. He’s just a baby.” Donghae sniffed delicately, as his mouth trailed down, far enough that he could suck gently at Eunhyuk’s hipbone. “You know Minho would never let him so much as _think_ about another hunter the way he thinks about Minho. He’s too protective, he wouldn’t let Taemin out of the house for _days_ if the poor baby ever did anything like that.” Donghae laughed quietly, mouth switching over to suck on the other side. “Be gentle with your brother, love. You know he’s hurting. He feels so guilty, about what happened with Siwon.”

“He still shouldn’t have touched you. You’re _mine_. You’re my pretty flower, so soft and delicate and sweet.”

“You sound so silly, you know. So jealous. As if I’d ever let Taemin into my house, much less my bed.” Donghae snickered, mouth trailing down Eunhyuk’s thigh. “You’re everything to me, you know. Everything I want, everything I need. I love you.”

“And I love you. Now let me show me how much I treasure you.”

***

“You need to talk to him.”

“I’ve _tried_! He won’t listen to me, he won’t listen to anything I have to say.” Youngbae sighed quietly, ran a hand through his hair, not stopping his pacing. “He’s stubborn; I’m inclined to believe that you know that about him. And he hates me, or at least hates what I am. I don’t want him to hate me, Jonghyun, but he won’t _listen_ , and he doesn’t believe me when I say that I’m not going to hurt him.”

“I know.” Jonghyun still hadn’t looked up from the book in his lap. “He’s been hurt, so many times, by so many vampires; he’s shown you that much.” Youngbae nodded. “My brother is…a complicated creature. Even I don’t understand him, and I’ve known him for more than five hundred years. I love him, so much, but you’re right, he can be stubborn. But I would ask, Youngbae, that you not give up on him just yet. If there’s anyone he’ll listen to, eventually, it’s you. You’re his mate, he knows that. And deep down, he knows that you’re right, that you won’t hurt him, that he can trust you, he just needs time to come around to that conclusion.”

Youngbae sighed. “I…yeah. I know that. But I don’t…this is going to sound stupid, but after what happened to Sanghyuk – you know, Hakyeon’s mate or boyfriend or whatever – I don’t want to lose any time that I could be spending with him. And I don’t want to call it a waste, because it’s not, if it means he’ll come around eventually, but I have no idea if he will, and if he does, if I’ll even still be there to witness it.” Slowly, Jonghyun closed the book, and looked up at Youngbae, eyebrows raised. “I love him, so much. And I just…just want him to understand that I’m not a bad person, not a bad vampire, that I won’t hurt him like they did.”

“That’s the problem, you know. They said the exact same things to him, and then, when it came down to the end, their inner vampire came out and he got hurt. And trust me, Youngbae, I know you aren’t like that; you have a million times the self-control that those vampires ever did, but I still get where he’s coming from. He’s been hurt so much in his past, he doesn’t want to risk himself like that again. He knows what it feels like, to be ripped apart by vampire fangs – I mean that literally, you know – and he knows that all vampires have the same weakness.” Slowly, Jonghyun got to his feet, and came towards Youngbae. “Have patience.”

“I’m _trying_.”

Jonghyun put a hand on Youngbae’s shoulder, lips pressed together into a thin line, before he spoke quietly. “He’ll come around. He just needs time, especially after what happened, with Siwon. He’s so sensitive, to the minds of those around him, and the pain and burn and bloodlust that Siwon was feeling, after he turned…it was consuming his mind, and thus, consuming my brother’s. So please, give him time. He needs to cool down. I’ll talk to him, Youngbae, but please remember that you need to be patient. If you try to push things, especially if you push too hard…I worry for your life.” Jonghyun pulled away, when he heard Heechul enter the room, and reached out to take Jinki’s hand. “You’ll figure it out. You’re a smart vampire.”

***

“Keep the hunters out. I don’t need them ruining this, not now.” Jongin nodded, and got to his feet, ignoring the desperate whine that left Kyungsoo’s lips. He slipped out of the room, and walked quickly to the kitchen, where he found five of the six others in Seokjin’s little gang. They all turned to look at him in unison, various degrees of shock written on their faces.

“Jonginnie, why are you here?” As Yoongi spoke, voice quiet, he wrapped a hand around Jungkook’s wrist, held him in place. “And why does this place reek of blood? Have you killed someone, recently, honeybee, do I need to be concerned?”

Jongin shook his head quickly. “No. No. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” Yoongi raised an eyebrow, ignoring the way Jungkook was trying to yank his wrist free. “Um. Seokjin, uh, turned someone. Kyungsoo.” That seemed to help them understand, and they all nodded.

Yoongi turned to look at the hunters. “Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung, out. Go…do something productive. Don’t come back until I call, or Seokjin calls.” His grip on Jungkook tightened as the hunters left, and he yanked the vampire closer. “No. Leave Jonginnie be. He’s not our enemy, not right now, sweet vampire.” Jungkook bared his fangs, and Yoongi grinned at him. “Adorable, so pretty, my little vampire.”

“Shut _up_ , Yoongi-”

Yoongi turned back to face Jongin. “Tell Seokjin that if he needs me to bring food for the baby, I’d be glad to. Jungkook, that’s enough, go to your room.” After a moment, the younger of the pair scampered off, and Yoongi spoke once more. “If I were you, Jonginnie, I’d make myself scarce when Namjoon comes home. I doubt he’s going to be happy to know that you’re here.” Without another word, he made his way down the hallway, following Junkook.

Almost as soon as he reentered the room, Kyungsoo threw himself into his arms, whimpering quietly, murmuring nonsense softly under his breath. Seokjin smiled fondly, then spoke to Jongin. “I need to go feed. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Take care of him.” Jongin nodded quickly, as he guided Kyungsoo back towards the bed, pressing gentle kisses to his shoulder. “And Jongin, if Namjoon comes home…tell him that he’s not to touch Kyungsoo, per my orders. We both know what happened the last time I let him try to help a newborn.” Anger. Fury. Pain. Self-loathing. Oh, yes, Jongin remember what had happened that last time all too well. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can. Take care of Kyungsoo. He’s not lucid, not yet, but he should be in a little bit. If you really think he needs to, he can feed on you.”

Without another word – or even waiting for a response – Seokjin left the room, leaving Jongin and Kyungsoo alone. Almost as soon as he was gone, Kyungsoo had moved, flipped them over so he was straddling Jongin’s waist, and leaned down to press a kiss to his mouth. His fangs weren’t out, which was good, but the kiss was still rough. “Remember when I found you? You were so upset, sweet Jongin, so angry. And I helped, didn’t I? I helped make it better? I let you feed on me, remember?”

“Of course I remember.”

“Mm, that’s right, sweet Jongin remembers everything, doesn’t he?” Jongin laughed quietly, hands sliding down to hold Kyungsoo’s waist. “Ah, you’re so pretty. So beautiful. I love you so much, my sweet, darling mate.” Jongin leaned up to mouth at Kyungsoo’s neck, before biting gently, no fangs. Kyungsoo whined quietly, rolled his hips, and Jongin smiled. “Always so good to me, aren’t you?”

They all started when they heard the door open, and the scent of human blood hit their noses. Without really thinking, Jongin’s hands closed around Kyungsoo’s wrists, and he locked the newborn in place, their gazes locking. “Eyes on me. Focus on me, on _me_ , baby, I’m right here, I’ve got you.” Kyungsoo whimpered, squirming in Jongin’s grip. “Hush, sweetheart, I’m right here. It’s okay. Focus on me.” In the background, Jongin could hear Namjoon moving, and he quickly sat up, shifting both of Kyungsoo’s wrists to one hand, the other arm wrapping around his waist. “Namjoon, why are you _here_?”

The hunter laughed quietly, and Jongin bit back a growl. “I smelled blood, smelled newborn, and I wanted to see what Seokjin’s gotten himself into this time. It doesn’t look good, at all. That poor baby looks like he needs real blood.” Namjoon came closer, and Jongin growled, ignoring the soft whine that left Kyungsoo’s lips. “I could help with that, you know. I can make him hurt less. You of all people would know, Jonginnie.” Jongin snarled, that time, grip on Kyungsoo tightening. “Oh, come _on_ , Jonginnie, let me help you.”

“Seokjin said that you weren’t allowed to touch him.” Namjoon rolled his eyes, came closer still. “I’m not lying, Namjoon, he did. He told me to tell you.” Kyungsoo was whimpering, now, at the proximity of the human blood in the room. “Go away. You’re not helping, Namjoon, you’re making it worse, you’re making him hurt. We were doing just fine before you came in here and fucked it up.”

Namjoon snarled, and then cut off sharply when a hand landed on his shoulder, pulled him backwards. “Namjoon, out. Leave the children be.” Namjoon didn’t move, and seconds later, Seokjin all but threw him towards the door. “When I tell you to do something, I expect that you do it, Namjoon. Now get out.” After a long moment, of simply glaring at Seokjin, Namjoon slipped out of the door, leaving them alone. “Ah, pretty Kyungsoo, sweet Jongin, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen.” Kyungsoo whined quietly, and Seokjin crawled up onto the bed, pulled the newborn into his arms. “Yoongi’s gone to find food for Kyungsoo. While we’re working on that, Jongin, you can go feed, if you need to.” Jongin shook his head quickly. “Alright. Alright, that’s fine.”

Kyungsoo whimpered when someone knocked on the door, and then let themselves in. It was Yoongi, leading a trembling human behind him. Jongin was on his feet in seconds, standing beside Yoongi and the human. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Without another word, Yoongi slipped out of the room, and Jongin turned to the human.

“Are you alright, Jonginnie, or do you need help?”

“I can…I can do it.” Seokjin hummed softly, and Jongin looked the human in the eyes. “Hey, hi, breathe.” After a moment, the human obeyed, took a deep breath. “Good, good. Can I touch you?” The human nodded, slowly, dazed. Jongin slid his hands underneath her jaw, tipped her head backwards. “I won’t hurt you.” She nodded again. “This won’t hurt, you don’t need to make a noise.” Another nod, as Jongin led her backwards. When he reached the bed, he leaned forward, and sank his fangs into her neck, drawing blood. He pulled back quickly, and moved out of the way, allowed Kyungsoo to take his place, and sink his fangs greedily into her neck. Jongin smiled fondly at his mate, and Seokjin ran a gentle hand through his hair. “Was I good?”

“That was very good, Jonginnie, I’m very proud of you. And look at Kyungsoo, so soft and precious and delicate and _gentle_ with her. Oh, he’s just like you, doesn’t want her to hurt. Such a beautiful little newborn, just like you were.”

***

Leeteuk released a long breath the moment they stepped out of the room, and the large doors closed behind them. Seunghyun put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and after a moment, he allowed the other hunter to pull him into a hug. “You did well, Leeteuk. Fantastic, even. They understand, you know, why it was you and not Luhan who had to do that. I explained everything to them before you arrived. Don’t worry. We’ll get things sorted out, and we’ll have our new Lady in no time. You’ll see. It’ll be alright.”

“When Luhan finds out-”

“Yes. He’ll be furious, I know, I’ve met him, but Leeteuk, we can’t just…we can’t just let him ignore this problem, simply because of something Zitao didn’t tell him. Time was running out, we needed to do something.” Leeteuk nodded once, and Seunghyun smiled softly at him. “You are just trying to do what’s best for the others. Without a Lady in power, nothing gets done. We both know that that isn’t what you want. We need unity, under a Lady. The Council is useless without her, they’re useless even with her. Too much bureaucracy.”

“I know.” Leeteuk kicked absently at the dirt beneath their feet. “Let’s go. It’s time to go home.”


	14. fury

Heechul hadn’t been expecting to hear from Seokjin so quickly, much less see him. So when he stepped into Heechul’s home, ignoring Ryeowook’s quiet noise of surprise and Jongdae’s broken little inquiries, it started Heechul, but he didn’t leave the room he was in. He didn’t so much as move, not until Seokjin walked into the room, and closed the door behind him. “What are you doing here?” Seokjin didn’t answer, as he came closer, gazing only at Heechul, completely ignoring Han Geng, on the bed, or Siwon, right in front of Heechul. “Seokjin, answer the question. Your little gang has been hurting _my_ people, in _my_ territory, and you of all vampires should know that I could very well treat that as an act of war. You did write the damn vampire Laws, after all.”

Seokjin laughed quietly, put a gentle hand on Heechul’s shoulder. “How is the darling newborn? Has he gone lucid yet?”

“Yes. He went six hours yesterday. With Seunghyun in the room.” Seokjin hummed quietly. “Seokjin, where’s my brother? Where’s Jongin?”

“Mm, he’s safe.” Heechul snorted. _That was remarkably vague, even for you_. “He’s with Kyungsoo. I wouldn’t hurt them, Heechul, you know me better than that. Jongin’s very good at negotiating, he had a good teacher.” _Prideful little bastard, aren’t you_? “Oh, always. When you do something amazing, Heechul, of course you should be proud of it. Like you, and…well, I’m not actually sure what you’ve done, so scratch that.” Heechul hissed quietly. “But my vampire Laws, and the hunter’s Code…and Jongin, of course, I’ll always be proud of my sweet, darling, Jongin.”

“Oh, of course. And you should be proud, of taking my little brother away from me when he was just a baby.” Seokjin sighed quietly, crouched down beside Heechul. “I told him you were dangerous. I warned him, and he went running after you anyways.”

“What, me? Dangerous?” Seokjin laughed quietly. “Mm, that’s funny, Heechul. You should remember, little one, that I never once did anything to hurt him. In fact, Heechul, I helped him. You remember how badly he was hurting, how much he _cried_ because he wouldn’t feed? I fixed that. I helped him.” Heechul sniffed quietly, and Seokjin snickered. “Heechul, you’d do well to remember that I’m not a horrible person.” Heechul gave an incredulous little laugh. “May I see the pretty newborn?” Heechul shook his head quickly. “You’re silly.” Seokjin reached out one hand towards Siwon, and after a moment, he took it, pulled himself up so he could look Seokjin in the eyes. “Mm, hello, pretty little newborn.” Siwon giggled, looped an arm around Seokjin’s neck, smiling. “Would pretty little newborn like to feed?” Siwon nodded quickly, and Seokjin tipped his head backwards. Siwon moved forward quickly, sank his fangs into Seokjin’s neck. “Oh, there you go, good boy.”

“Leave him _alone_ , Seokjin.” The elder vampire chuckled quietly as Siwon pulled backwards, and made his way up onto the bed, into Han Geng’s lap. “Why are you here? What is it that you want this time?”

“You wound me, princess. What if I just wanted to check on my darling grandchild?” Heechul snorted. “You’re right, that sounds fake, even to my ears.” Seokjin smiled fondly at Heechul. “No, I wanted to pick your brain. If I were, say, looking for a certain child of mine, where might I find him?” Heechul went very still, turned to look at Seokjin. _You’ve lost your own child? How did you do that_? “Oh, hush, I know you’ve lost your own children before – oops, sort, sore subject?” Heechul growled quietly. “Are you going to answer me, princess, or no?”

“Last I saw him, he was beating up on Ryeowook for leaving Kyungsoo and Jongin on their own with you.” Seokjin sniffed delicately. “As you might imagine, he wasn’t too happy, not only because his youngest ran off to see you, but also because Ryeowook and the others willingly let Kyungsoo continue on to see you alone.” Seokjin rolled his eyes. “He’s still in town, but he’s lurking in the shadows somewhere. Couldn’t tell you where exactly he ran off to.” Seokjin hummed quietly, one arm snaking around Heechul’s waist. “Get out of my house. I don’t think you know this, Seokjin, but I don’t want you here. In fact, I don’t think I want you around until I have my brother back, thank you very much.” Seokjin chuckled. “You’re absolutely insatiable.” _Oh, I’m insatiable? Have you met yourself_? “Get out.”

Seokjin rose to his feet, but before he could even turn around, Ryeowook was at his side, Minseok and Jongdae beside him. “Leeteuk called. He and Seunghyun will be home as quickly as they can.” Heechul nodded, glanced at Han Geng and Siwon. Siwon was giggling quietly, pressing gentle kisses to Han Geng’s face. “Can I…is it okay if I go spend some time with Yesung?” Heechul nodded, and Ryeowook turned on his heel, left the room quickly.

“Luhan’s pissed. He texted me, he’s coming here, he’s demanding that he see Siwon.” Heechul sighed quietly. “There might have been some thinly veiled threats in the texts, just so you know. Something about how he might kill you. Or dismember you. Or destroy everyone that you’ve ever loved.” Heechul laughed quietly, and Seokjin smiled. “I’ll go wait for him at the door, shall I?” Heechul nodded once. “Okay. Yeah. I’ll go do that.” He slipped out of the room, and then it was Jongdae’s turn to speak, his voice shaking.

“Hakyeon called me.” Heechul growled quietly, and Seokjin put a gentle hand on his arm, but Heechul pulled out of his grip. “I…he’s really upset. I’m pretty sure he knows that Seokjin’s here, and I’m also pretty sure that he’s…ah, um, coming here?” Heechul ran a hand down his face, growling in his throat. “I’m going to go hide with Yixing.” Heechul nodded quickly. Before Jongdae left, he looked at Han Geng and Siwon. “Come with me.” They were quick to obey.

“I suppose that answers my question, doesn’t it?” Heechul shrugged. “I’ll wait for him to come here. I need a word with him.” Heechul raised an eyebrow. “You’ll find out when he does. It has to do with you, too, princess, but I don’t want to have to repeat myself.” Heechul nodded slowly, stiffened when he felt Hakyeon’s arrival downstairs. He heard Joonmyun’s soft shriek of surprise, and Minseok’s desperate scramble out of Hakyeon’s way. “Mm, rude. Storming into someone else’s home, Hakyeon, I thought you were above that. I thought I taught you better, although it has been a few years, hasn’t it?”

“Oh, shut up, Seokjin. As if you care about my etiquette.” Seokjin sniffed quietly as Hakyeon made his way into the room, looking just as furious as ever. “Where’s my child?” Seokjin pointed at Heechul, one eyebrow raised. “Ha. You’re very funny. You know which one I’m talking about.” Seokjin laughed quietly, but didn’t answer. “And, on another subject, where’s Heechul’s newborn? I want to meet him.” Heechul’s jaw clenched, and Hakyeon smiled at him. “Oh, you’ve hidden him away from me, haven’t you? How rude, princess, how very rude of you. I’m your _maker_ , does that mean nothing to you?”

“That’s enough, you two. We need to talk.” Seokjin grabbed them both by their elbows, and led them towards a couch. “Sit still, the both of you. Let me talk, and then you’ll have your turn.” He pushed them both down onto the couch. “Hakyeon, my sweet, darling child.” Hakyeon looked up at him, eyes firey with rebellion. “You remember when I gave you your territory? You remember what I made you promise me?” Hakyeon nodded slowly, confused look on his face. “Tell me. Tell me, honeybee, what I had you, and all of your siblings, promise me.”

“You want a direct quote?” Seokjin tipped his head to the side, a silent affirmation. “If I remember correctly, we had to promise that we ‘ _would keep the humans safe from danger, feed responsibly, maintain peace with the hunters, ensure that our children follow the Laws, and respect the world that the First Vampires have created for us_.’ Did I miss anything? Was that _satisfactory_ for you, maker dearest? Or would you like me to do the entire thing, from the beginning, and include my darling brother’s snarky comments too? Because I can, you know, I remember the whole thing.”

“No, that’ll do just fine, Hakyeon. You got the basics down.” Hakyeon sniffed, crossed one leg over the other. “Let’s talk about feeding responsibly, shall we?” Hakyeon raised an eyebrow. “Five hundred and forty-seven. Does that number ring a bell in that tiny little head of yours?” Hakyeon’s upper lip curled upwards, and Heechul could see his fangs peeking out. “No? Then let me try and make it relevant for you. That’s how many people have died of ‘mysterious and/or unknown causes’ in _your_ territory in the past year. Does that sound responsible to you, honeybee?” Hakyeon shrugged. “And furthermore, does that sound like you are maintaining _peace_ with the hunters who live in your territory?”

Hakyeon leaned forward, not breaking eye contact. “Is that really your concern? The fact that humans die? I hate to break it to you, maker dearest, but that’s what humans do. They die. And you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, what with how many humans you’ve tried to keep.” Seokjin’s eyebrow twitched, and Heechul closed his eyes, silently praying that Hakyeon would stop now and just give up. “Why is it, Seokjin, that ‘mysterious’ and ‘unknown’ causes are always equal to vampires, in your mind?”

Seokjin let out a quiet breath. “Honeybee, my darling child, my sweet, lovely, little child.” Hakyeon’s nostrils flared. “You think I don’t talk to the hunters over there? You think they haven’t told me about what’s been happening? Do you think that I’m an _idiot_ , honeybee? I would hope not, I did raise you better, I hope. Remember, you did promise me that you’d be a responsible and respectful little vampire.” Hakyeon snorted, rolled his eyes. “Hey, don’t you dare roll your eyes at me.” Hakyeon glared at him, and Seokjin’s eyes glinted. “Ah, somebody’s gotten brave, hasn’t he? Fine, honeybee, if you won’t talk, I’ll tell you what the problem is.” Hakyeon laughed quietly. “When you and your children kill the humans, when you kill _that many humans_ , it sets off alarms for the hunters. When the hunters pick up on that sort of thing, they don’t keep it to themselves, they tell the Council, they tell the Lady, and then, if it gets any worse, the Lady comes to me. I don’t think you realize this, honeybee, but I created the vampire Laws, I created the hunter’s Code, I created the bond between hunters and vampires, and I will stand by that alliance.

“When my children are the ones creating tension in that relationship, it is my responsibility to intervene. Here’s the problem with what you’ve done, honeybee. You have broken the promise that you made me. Five hundred and forty-seven is too many humans. Even if you had ten newborns every month, you wouldn’t need to kill that many. You don’t have to kill them at all, not for blood. You know that. I taught you that, I’ve trained you.” Hakyeon sniffed quietly, a look on his face that gave Heechul the idea that Hakyeon was _humoring_ Seokjin. “Regardless, honeybee, of the death, we have to talk about your brother.” Hakyeon snickered quietly, hid his smile behind his hand. “Oh, you’ve been expecting that, haven’t you? Our little chat about Dongsung, that should have happened _years_ ago, but I waited, honeybee, because I thought you might apologize, or at least _explain yourself_.” Hakyeon was still smiling, and Heechul could sense, in his mind, the way he was laughing silently at his maker. “I know what he did to you. I know that he attacked you. But regardless, honeybee, he was my child, just like you are. And you disrespected the care and love that I gave you, when you killed him. When you left, I asked that you respect that promise, and that you respect your family. Remember what we talked about, before you left? How I wanted you to love your family? How I wanted you kids to talk to me, if you had problems, so we could work together, as a _family_? You disrespected me, honeybee, you disrespected your promises.” Hakyeon gazed up at Seokjin for a moment. “Does my honeybee have a comment to make?”

Hakyeon got to his feet quickly. “Yes, actually, I do. Did it ever cross your mind, Seokjin, that I don’t give a fucking _shit_?” Seokjin raised an eyebrow. “That I stopped caring about my promises long ago? Here’s another lesson for you, alongside humans dying. People. Break. Promises.” He stepped closer, but Seokjin didn’t move. “Yes, I promised you those things. But here’s something you would do very well to remember, my _darling_ maker; children inevitably grow up, and many of them see straight through the bullshit that their parents have presented them. Does that make sense to you, maker mine, or do I need to explain it to you further?”

Seokjin merely raised an eyebrow, before he grabbed Hakyeon by his jaw, cruel and cold and angry. “Oh, my sweet, darling, lovely little honeybee. You think you’re _so_ strong, you think your sting hurts so badly, don’t you, sweet honeybee?” Hakyeon growled, squirming in Seokjin’s grip. “You know what the problem with that is, my lovely child?” Hakyeon didn’t answer, his fingernails raking down Seokjin’s face, drawing blood. “Let me explain it to you, baby bee. When a honeybee stings someone, when they stick their little stinger in somebody’s skin, and fly away,” Seokjin paused, fangs sliding free as he gazed at his child. “well, sweet Hakyeon, after they do that, they die.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Oh, I would _never_.” Seokjin leaned forward, the tips of his fangs brushing over Hakyeon’s cheekbone. “Heechul, go get Jongdae. And Siwon. Bring them both here, thank you.” Heechul left quickly, but had returned a few seconds later. Seokjin didn’t even have to look over his shoulder to know that Jongdae was incredibly resistant to the entire idea of being in the same room as Hakyeon. “Jongdae, come here, sweet treasure.” After a few moments of hesitation, Jongdae came forward, standing two feet out of Seokjin’s reach, five feet away from Hakyeon. “While we’re on the subject of what – or, more accurately, _who_ \- you’ve done, let’s talk about Jongdae. I know, honeybee, that we’re vampires, that we’re some god’s evil creation, but you and I both know that we are more than capable of having morals. We do not _abuse_ our children, we do not do to them what you did with Jongdae.” Hakyeon hissed quietly, glared at Jongdae. “Hey, no, look at me.” Hakyeon obeyed, after a few moments. “This is unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.”

“Yeah? What are you going to do about it?” A few seconds later, and Hakyeon pulled out of Seokjin’s grip. Before the elder vampire could stop him, he had grabbed Jongdae by his upper arm, and yanked him up against his body. Jongdae shrieked, struggling. Hakyeon put his mouth on Jongdae’s ear, fangs tracing over the bony ridge. “Heechul, I wouldn’t. Stay right where you are. Or I’ll kill him, you know I will.” Heechul froze, hand clamping down on Siwon’s arm. “Alright, Jongdae, listen to me, and listen carefully.”

“ _No_ -”

“Don’t move.” Jongdae shuddered, went still, eyelids heavy. “Maker dearest, you never answered my question. What are you going to do about it?” Seokjin gazed at Hakyeon for a long moment, without speaking. “Heechul, take the newborn, and get out.” Heechul shot a look at Seokjin, who tipped his head to the side, a silent answer, and Heechul left quietly, pulling Siwon with him. “Jongdae, doll, you’ve met Seokjin.” Jongdae nodded slowly, head rolling back to lean into Hakyeon’s shoulder. “And you know that he’s my maker? He made me, and I made you.”

“Mmhm.” Hakyeon laughed quietly, lips brushing over Jongdae’s neck as he pulled backwards, to look up at Seokjin again. “Are you gonna hurt him?”

“Hakyeon, let the little vampire go.” Hakyeon laughed out loud, and Jongdae wrapped a hand around his wrist, a soft, unspoken warning. “Your problems, honeybee, are with me. They aren’t with Jongdae, that much we know.” Hakyeon was still laughing, and Jongdae let out a tiny, quiet whine. “Hakyeon. Let him go.” Hakyeon snickered, shook his head slowly, kissing gently at Jongdae’s ear. Anyone could have felt the tension in the room, and Jongdae was pressed right up against the fury, trembling in Hakyeon’s grip. After a few seconds, he whimpered quietly, the noise pitching louder when Hakyeon bared his teeth at Seokjin, grip on Hakyeon’s wrist tightening in fear. “Treasure, calm down. _Calm_ down.” Jongdae was shaking like a leaf, soft little whimpers leaving his lips every few seconds, and Seokjin could sense that Hakyeon’s compulsion was wearing off. That was bad; when Jongdae was pulled out of Hakyeon’s claws, he would be furious, out of his mind with anger, and he would try to fight Hakyeon; that would get him killed, Seokjin knew it would. Jongdae was still whimpering, throat exposed, eyes shut. Seokjin’s eyebrow was twitching, and after a few moments, he spoke. “Let the youngling go, Hakyeon, and – treasure, my darling little treasure, stay still, _calm down_ \- talk to me, honeybee.”

“Hak _yeon_.”

“Yes, doll?”

“Lemme go, I’ll be good, promise.”

After a few seconds, Hakyeon nodded, released Jongdae. The younger vampire stumbled away, one hand coming out so he could support his body on the bedframe. He slid to the ground, a soft little whimper leaving his lips. “Look at me, Hakyeon.” Hakyeon obeyed, and Seokjin sighed quietly. “I thought I raised you better, I really did. I thought that my care meant more to you than this. Hakyeon, I thought you wanted to make me _proud_ , isn’t that what you said?”

After a few seconds, Hakyeon ran a hand through his hair, looked at Jongdae. “Seokjin, I…I didn’t…I’m sorry.”

“What happened? What _changed_ , honeybee? Because you killing your brother, I can get over that, but the humans? What could possibly have made you so _angry_ that you would do that? You never used to be like this, I would know.” Hakyeon looked close to tears as he gazed at Seokjin, gaze flitting over to Jongdae for a few seconds. “Please look at me. And please, my lovely little honeybee, tell me. Talk to me. Please.” Hakyeon shook his head quickly, not meeting Seokjin’s gaze. “Honeybee, I love you. I have loved you since I met you, you are my _child_ , and I ask, sweet child, that you please, _please_ tell me what’s wrong, so I might _help_.”

“You can’t help me.” Seokjin shook his head slowly, and now, he looked near to tears. “You can’t.” Hakyeon looked away quickly, and Seokjin swore to himself. He had been so close, and now… “There was one person who could, and he’s-” Hakyeon broke off with a sob, crouched down onto the floor, head in his hands. “He’s…”

“He’s dead.” Seokjin looked over his shoulder, at Jaehwan, standing in the doorway, two others behind him. They stepped inside, and Hakyeon growled at them, pressed his hands against his eyes, a desperate attempt to hide his tears. “Hakyeon, please, look at me.” Jaehwan knelt in front of Hakyeon, stretched out a hand. Seokjin held still, breath caught in his throat, unmoving until Jongdae stepped towards him, pressed against his side. “You’re my maker, and I love you. Please, please, let us help you.” Hakyeon whimpered quietly. “Please. Please, Hakyeon, let Seokjin help you. You know he can help, he’s more than capable, and he loves you more than enough.”

After a moment, Hakyeon looked up at Seokjin. “Heechul’s mate killed mine. And I don’t…I am not angry about that, Jaehwan, stop looking at me like that. I’m not angry at Leeteuk. I don’t want him dead, I don’t, Heechul knows that. It was my fault, I kidnapped him, and Sanghyuk wanted to hurt him. He had more than enough reason to do what he did.” Hakyeon held still, breathing hard, and after a few seconds, he pulled Jaehwan close to his chest. “I miss him.”

“Hongin, Wonshik, come here.” The pair came towards Seokjin, and he put a hand on their shoulders. “Take him home. Call me when he’s ready to speak to me.” Hongbin nodded, reached out to put a hand on Jaehwan’s shoulder. “And Jae, I’ll come by to have a chat with you.” Jaehwan nodded, pressed his face into Hakyeon’s chest as he helped his maker to his feet. “Take care of him.” They all nodded quickly, as they guided Hakyeon out of the room. As soon as they were gone, Jongdae was clinging to Seokjin. _Where’s my brother, where’s Jongin, I want to see him, please, Seokjin, wanna see my brother_.”

“We’ll go see him.”

***

Leeteuk and Luhan arrived at Heechul’s home at the exact same time. Luhan glared at him for a moment, before he swept through the doors, past Minseok, who followed quickly, like a little puppy. Leeteuk rolled his eyes, made his way down the hallway, and into the library, where he found Joonmyun and Jiyong and Youngbae, all reading quietly. They all three looked up at the same time when Leeteuk entered the room, but only Jiyong acknowledged his presence, by motioning the hunter over. “Is Seunghyun alright” Leeteuk nodded quickly. “Heechul’s upst-”

“I’m not looking for him.” Jiyong went still. “I’ve been informed that Kyungsoo went after Jongin, _alone_. Is this true?” After a few moments of silence, Jiyong nodded. Leeteuk sighed, fighting to keep his face neutral. “Seokjin’s here.” Jiyong nodded again. “Then where is my hunter?”

“I don’t know. No one knows, except Seokjin, and I highly doubt he’ll talk.” Jiyong sighed quietly, ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I wish I had more to tell you.” He looked away quickly, as Seunghyun entered the room, slid an arm around his waist. “You might want to go speak to Heechul. Seokjin’s with him, if you…wanted to have a go at that.”

After a moment, Leeteuk nodded, made his way out of the library and up the stairs, towards Heechul’s bedroom. He pushed the door open, not bothering to knock, and found himself face to face with a group of vampires. Heechul was seated on the couch, arms and legs crossed, and Jongdae was standing behind him, facing a third vampire who Leeteuk assumed was Seokjin. As soon as he had entered, Heechul had looked up quickly, a bright smile making its way onto his face when he saw Leeteuk. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Leeteuk made his way towards Heechul, gaze flitting over to meet Seokjin’s eye for a split second before he looked at his mate again. “Where’s Kyungsoo?”

“Safe.”

Seokjin was the one who answered, and Leeteuk turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised. “I didn’t ask _how_ he was. I want to know where he is.” Seokjin looked a bit taken aback, by Leeteuk’s forwardness, but he didn’t speak. “All I know is that Ryeowook let him run off on his own, after Jongin. And I trust Kyungsoo, but I don’t trust _you_.”

Seokjin laughed quietly. “Oh, yes, I can see why Heechul likes you.”

“And why’s that?”

“You two have to same fire. The same…let’s put it this way, this is a much nicer way to say it. You’re both bitches.” Leeteuk smiled almost fondly at Seokjin. “You want to see your hunter, fine. I’ll show you.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Jongdae wants to see him too. I’m not one to break up families.” Seokjin turned on his heel, started towards the door, and then paused when he realized that no one was following. “Well? Are you coming, or not?”


	15. flee

“Heechul?”

“Jongin.” The younger vampire sighed quietly in relief. “Where’s Kyungs-” Heechul cut off when he heard Kyungsoo whimper, clinging desperately to Jongin’s clothes. “Jongin, what happened? What…what did Seokjin do?” Jongin shushed Kyungsoo quietly, pressed a kiss to his forehead before he turned back to Heechul. He stretched out a hand, and Heechul took it quickly, allowed Jongin’s thoughts to enter his mind. _Kyungsoo and I fixed a problem. Hakyeon is dangerous, you know that, I know Seokjin’s told you. And we both know that one of the few ways to hurt him is from the inside. If Seokjin has Kyungsoo, he has me; if he has me, he has you; and if he has you, he has Hakyeon_.

“This is ridiculous. You just…you just offered your mate up to be turned? Why would you do that, Jongin, after everything that happened to you?”

“I didn’t offer him up. No, hey, don’t interrupt, let me explain. He made me an offer – he turns Kyungsoo, and our family stays safe from Namjoon and the others. I gave him a fair chance, I brought Kyungsoo here, and we discussed this. Kyungsoo made this decision himself. And I might have played a role in his decision, but I know that he’s more than capable of making his own rational decisions.” Jongin took a deep breath, hesitant to say the next sentence that popped into his head. “I would never, _never_ force anyone to turn, if they didn’t want to.”

Heechul flinched, stepped backwards. “That was unnecessary, and uncalled for.” Jongin sniffed quietly. _So was turning me, when I said I didn’t want to, but that hardly stopped you_. “Jongin, enough. We can discuss this later. Right now…Jongdae and Leeteuk are here. Dae wants to see you, Leeteuk wants to see Kyungsoo. Is he okay to be around humans?”

“With supervision.” Seokjin came into the room slowly, Leeteuk and Jongdae behind him. Kyungsoo whined quietly, pressed his face into Jongin’s neck, trying to block out the scent of human blood. “Kyungsoo, look at me.” The newborn obeyed quickly, and then winced when he saw Leeteuk. “Focus, little one. Remember what we talked about? Control.” Kyungsoo nodded, swallowed hard, nostrils flaring when he inhaled. “There you go, you aren’t going to hurt him, trust me.” Kyungsoo’s fingers fisted in Jongin’s shirt, and Jongin gripped his wrists, holding him in place. “It’s okay. You’re alright.”

Kyungsoo looked quickly at his mate. “Jongin-”

“I’ve got you, I won’t let you hurt him.” Kyungsoo whined quietly, as Leeteuk came closer, Seokjin hovering at his shoulder, prepared to jump in between them if Kyungsoo broke free of Jongin’s grip. “Breathe.” Kyungsoo obeyed, and then whimpered. “I know, I know. Focus.”

“Kyungsoo?”

“Leeteuk.”

“How are you?”

Kyungsoo bit his lip, looked quickly at Jongin, then at Seokjin, and finally, his gaze found Leeteuk again. “I…I’m…alive, I guess?” He laughed quietly, awkwardly. “I’m okay. It’s okay. I’m fine.” Leeteuk smiled gently at him. “How’s Siwon? And what happened at the Council?”

“Siwon’s okay. He and Han Geng are safe.” Heechul had come to stand on Leeteuk’s other side, hand hovering over the hunter’s waist. “As for the Council…you know that the Lady is guilty, you know what we are responsible for. As soon as the girls got home, Zitao and Sehun took them up to the Council, to start preparations for…whatever it is they do when they have more than one candidate. We’ll know what the plan is soon. But I’d rather have all the newborns sane before then.” Kyungsoo laughed quietly, and Seokjin sniffed delicately. “Seokjin, how much longer will you keep him for? When is he going to be able to come home?”

“I don’t know. As soon as he can, as soon as he’s able to be around humans in that kind of an environment for a long period of time, I will let him. He wants to hunt, just like Han Geng, and I won’t stop him, we won’t stop either of them, if that’s what they want.” Kyungsoo pressed his face into Jongin’s neck, whimpered quietly. “When the time comes, we will deal with Hakyeon. Right now, I will let him grieve for his mate, but he cannot avoid retaliation forever.”

“I understand.” Leeteuk reached out, put a gentle hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, and the vampire went still, grip on Jongin tightening. “I’ll see you soon. We’ll be waiting for you. If…if you want to come back.” Kyungsoo nodded once, trembling, now, underneath Leeteuk’s touch. “Take care of him.” No one was really sure who he was talking to, but Seokjin and Heechul and Jongin all nodded in unison, as Leeteuk made his way out of the room.

Heechul looked at Seokjin for a long time, before he spoke. “We need to deal with him, sooner rather than later, you know that. The longer we wait, the more time he has to allow his anger to build, the more time he has to retaliate against us before we can get him under control.” Seokjin nodded once. “Listen, I have to go. Leeteuk and I have…hunter…problems, to deal with. Mostly Luhan. Minseok’s holding him off, to the best of his ability, but he needs us home, soon. And Leeteuk, I need to talk to you. Alone. Please.” Leeteuk nodded, took Heechul’s hand, and allowed the vampire to lead him out of the room. After a few seconds, Jongdae came to stand beside Seokjin, murmured quietly in his ear for a few moments, before he left quickly. Seokjin sighed quietly, and then looked at the pair of vampires on the bed.

“I’ll take care of you, you have my word, the both of you.” They nodded slowly, and Kyungsoo gradually released Jongin, pulled out of the elder vampire’s grip. “And, baby vampire, trust me when I say that I will not let you hurt anyone that you care about, not while you are under my care.”

***

“You’re so angry.” Taemin spoke quietly from where he stood in the doorway, gazing at Minho. The hunter was standing by the window, gazing out into the darkness, every angle in his body sharp and harsh and furious. He didn’t acknowledge Taemin’s presence, even as the vampire came closer to him, put a gentle hand on his waist, and pressed his mouth to his shoulder. “What happened? Tell me, please, I don’t want you to keep this inside. Let me help you. Let me be here for you, Minho.” The hunter shook his head slowly. “Please tell me. I want to know. I want you to trust me with this, please.”

Minho spun on his heel, walked away quickly. “You don’t need – or want – to know, Taemin. And furthermore, this doesn’t concern you. This concerns myself, and my brother.”

“I’m your _mate_ , of course it concerns me! And Han Geng and Siwon are my friends, you know that.” Taemin hissed quietly when Minho walked out the door, followed quickly after him. “Minho, you can’t just block me out like this, please, don’t do this to me, not again, Minho, please, I _love you_.”

Minho went still, turned on his heel to gaze at Taemin. “Say that again.”

Taemin let out a quiet breath, trembling. “I-I…I love you.” His voice had gone soft, quiet, hesitant, and he looked terrified at the prospect of saying that out loud.

Minho closed his eyes, sighed. “Taemin…” The vampire was crying, he realized that, now, when he opened his eyes again. “Taemin, you _know_ what happened when I was a kid, I’ve shown you what they did. To my parents. To my brothers. To me.” Taemin nodded, as Minho ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry…I…I need to go. I need some air.” He started towards the door, but before he could open it, Taemin was standing in front of him, looking absolutely panicked.

“Please don’t leave me. Not again.”

Minho met his eyes. “I’m sorry. I have to.” Taemin shook his head quickly. “You have my word, I will come back. But I…” He paused. “I need to go talk to Seunghyun. I’m sorry.”

A few seconds of silence, and then Taemin stepped out of the way, allowed Minho to move past him. “I love you. I’m sorry, but I love you.”

Minho paused in the doorway. “We’ll talk. Later.”

***

“We need to fix this.”

“It’s not our responsibility.” The elder of the pair turned on his heel, and leaned forwards, bracing his forearms on the edge of the balcony. “We were told not to intervene. I’m going to stay out of it. I would highly suggest, sweet hunter, that you do the same, unless you want Seokjin to be angry.” The hunter sniffed delicately, as he looked down at the street, eyes finding the pair of humans – hunters – quickly. “When he gets angry, he gets furious. He’s killed hunters like you, for doing the thing that you’re thinking about doing.”

“Did it ever cross your mind that I don’t care?”

“Don’t take that tone with me, little hunter. I could rip your heart out in a second if I wanted to.” A few more moments, of tense silence, and then the hunter climbed over the railing of the balcony, to balance on the very edge. “Getting reckless, aren’t you, Taehyung?” The hunter chuckled quietly, fingers flexing on the railing, as he gazed over his shoulder at the vampire. “He won’t miss you, if you fall and die.”

“Would he miss any of us, if we died? Would he miss you, if I staked you dead?” The vampire snickered quietly, place his hand in between Taehyung’s shoulder blades. “Are you going to do it, Yoongi? I know you want to. Go on. It won’t take much effort, not for you. Push me.” Moments later, Yoongi withdrew his hand, and Taehyung laughed again, turned slowly so he could gaze at Yoongi. “You know, I don’t think you’re right. I think he’d miss us. I think he misses the other hunters that he’s killed. I think he’d miss me, if I died, and he’d miss you, if I staked you.” Yoongi snorted, incredulous. “Seokjin cares. He’s proven that, with Jongin and Kyungsoo and Jongdae and Jungkook.”

“No offense, but you sound delusional.” Taehyung laughed, face splitting into a smile as he leaned backwards, away from the railing. “Silly Taehyung. Always so willing to see the good in everyone, aren’t you?” Taehyun shook his head, still smiling. “Little hunter thinks he’s so brave, doesn’t he? Such a brave little hunter, so eager to prove the big, bad vampire wrong.” Seconds later, Taehyung lifted one hand from the railing, still leaning backwards, only his fingertips and the tips of his shoes holding him in place, body ready to fall. 

Their gazes locked, Taehyung smiling, Yoongi with a soft little hint of a smirk on his face, and then Taehyung let go. He fell backwards, one arm still extended, and in a split second, Yoongi had grabbed his wrist, held him still, and yanked him back up onto the balcony. “Oh, my daring prince, you saved me. However shall I repay you?” Taehyung sing-songed the words, allowed Yoongi to hoist him over the railing, back to relative safety. Taehyung laughed quietly, at the way Yoongi’s face went perfectly smooth, stoic, emotionless, and slid his hand over the vampire’s neck, fingers cold on Yoongi’s warm skin. “I knew you’d do it. Save me.”

Yoongi didn’t respond, as he led Taehyung inside, never once releasing his wrist. Namjoon was waiting in the living room, Jungkook on his lap, mouthing gently at his neck. “Mm, little Taehyung, sweet Yoongi. I was getting worried, you were out there for a long time.”

Yoongi didn’t respond, as he continued forward, ignoring Jungkook’s quiet noise of surprise, before he reached out for the elder vampire. Taehyung motioned Jungkook after them, and he followed quickly, shaking off Namjoon’s grip. The hunter wasn’t far behind, and before long, the others had joined them as they made their way to where they knew Seokjin was waiting for them. “Tae, Namjoon, Jimin, Hoseok, stay out here. Stay away from the newborn.” The hunters nodded, with varying degrees of acceptance of those directions, before Yoongi and Jungkook stepped inside.


	16. treasure

“I don’t want to have to fight with him.” Seokjin spoke quietly, as he gazed out the window, unblinking. “But I am afraid that my child has gone too far. He’s become too much of a threat to be trusted with his responsibilities.” He paused, fingers tapping absently on the wall. “He needs to go. We need him neutralized. He cannot be allowed to hurt another human. He’s killed far too many already. If I don’t deal with the problem, the Council will deal with the problem, and I’d rather they not get involved. They have more important things to deal with.” He turned, now, to face the others in the room. Kyungsoo was seated on Jongin’s lap, Heechul right behind them, grip tight on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Ryeowook and Joonmyun were both leaning against the wall, mirroring each other’s body language. Jongdae was sandwiched in between Yoongi and Jungkook, pouting, trying to make himself as small as possible, so as to avoid touching either of them. Minseok was sitting on the floor, leaning backwards against Jongdae’s legs, Jimin’s head on his shoulder. The hunter was half-asleep. Leeteuk and Seunghyun were standing on either side of the door, arms crossed, gazes fixed on Seokjin.

“What do you need from us?” Leeteuk spoke quietly, not breaking eye contact. “I agree with you, on everything you just said, especially about the Council. Hakyeon needs to go. He’s toxic. He has hurt just about every group of people I know; the hunters, the vampires, the humans. And I will do everything in my power to stop him.”

Minseok turned around, looked up so he could meet Leeteuk’s gaze. “And when Luhan tells you that you aren’t going to get involved? What then, Leeteuk?”

Leeteuk glanced quickly at Seunghyun, then back at Minseok. “I don’t care. I don’t. I’ve gone over his head once, I can do it again. What he’s doing right now…he’s absolutely off his rocker. He’s not fit to lead the hunters, not in his state, and if he’s not going to make sure that we’re safe, then I’m going to. If he won’t be responsible for the hunters, for _our_ hunters, then I will be. They belong to me, just as much as they do to him.” He fell silent, for a moment, before he spoke again. “He’s not stable, not right now. He’s angry, about what Siwon did, and what happened to Kyungsoo. He’s angry about the girls. He’s _furious_ , about Namjoon and Seokjin and that whole mess.”

Seunghyun rolled his eyes, opened his mouth to protest that idea. “Leeteuk-”

“Don’t.” Leeteuk straightened, pushed off of the wall. “What do you need from me?”

“I’ll give you a call. I need to speak with Namjoon before I decide anything.” Seokjin looked at Heechul quickly, before he spoke again. “Heechul, I’m going to ask you to do something, and you’re not going to like it. But I need you to do it for me. Please.” Heechul nodded. “I need you to talk to Luhan. I know he doesn’t want to see you, I know you don’t necessary want to see him, but I need you to make sure that he doesn’t hate your vampires. We don’t need another war on our hands; one is quite enough.” Seokjin turned back to the window, a sigh leaving his lips.

“Of course.” Heechul turned to look at Leeteuk, who was avoiding his eyes. “I need to talk to you. Alone.” Leeteuk didn’t speak for a long moment, before he turned on his heel, and walked out of the room. Heechul followed after a few seconds.

Heechul followed Leeteuk down the hallway, and into Heechul’s bedroom. He pushed the door shut behind him, before he spoke quietly. “Are you doing alright?” Leeteuk didn’t answer, and Heechul sighed. “Don’t be like that. Please talk to me.” Leeteuk turned to gaze at Heechul, lips pressed together in frustration. “Leeteuk. Something’s wrong, I know that much. I’m not stupid. Something’s bothering you, and I want to know what, so that I can try to help you deal with it.” Leeteuk sniffed, shook his head. “I know it’s not nothing. Don’t lie to me.” A long silence. “Is this about Siwon?”

“ _No_ , of course not.” Heechul didn’t respond, came forward to wrap his hands around the hunter’s wrists, fingertips stroking his skin gently. “I…” He paused, shook his head quickly, before he spoke again. “You remember what I asked you?”

“Of course I do. I remember my answer, too.”

Leeteuk nodded slowly, leaned into Heechul’s touch. “I love you.” Heechul pressed his mouth to Leeteuk’s hair. “I want you to promise me something. I want you to promise that if anything happens to me while I’m helping Seokjin, you’ll let me die.” Heechul went perfectly still, grip tightening on Leeteuk’s wrists. “I mean it. Promise me, Heechul.”

“You have my word.”

“Thank you.” Leeteuk pulled away, to look Heechul in the eyes. “I’ve been doing some thinking, about…about…all that, about Siwon and Kyungsoo and…and Zitao, I guess, and I’ve decided that that isn’t what I want. I want…I want to be human. Until I die. And when I die, I want to stay dead.” Heechul nodded slowly, and Leeteuk continued. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m not upset.”

“Yes, you are. But I want you to respect me, and what I want. Thank you, and I’m sorry. Now please, kiss me before I cry.” Heechul did, kissed him slow and gentle, hands moving to cup his face, sucking his lower lip in between his teeth. “I love you. I love you, and I want you to remember that.” Heechul hummed quietly, backed Leeteuk into a wall, pinned him in place, leaned down to suck gently at his jaw. “I love you so much.” Seconds later, he pushed Heechul backwards, pulling a soft whimper from the vampire’s lips. “I have to go. The hunters need me.” Without another word, he walked quickly out of the room, ignoring the look that Heechul shot after him.

He could hear Zitao and Minho screaming at each other moments after he walked into the building, voices echoing down the hallway. He sighed quietly, rolled his eyes when he heard Luhan quietly trying to calm them down, to no avail. Almost as soon as he walked into the room, he witnessed Zitao take a swing at Minho, the punch landing squarely on his jaw. Minho responded in kind, his own punch hitting Zitao in the nose. Leeteuk heard a crunch, and winced, before he came forward, shoved Zitao backwards, putting himself in between the pair. “That’s _enough_ , the both of you. Zitao, go outside. _Now_.” Zitao obeyed, slipped out of the room. “Minho-”

“I’m not going to apologize.”

“I’m not asking you to.” Minho glared at him. “I am asking you to calm down. You know, I know that you know, that Zitao is his own person, he is more than capable of making his own decisions. He’s not a child any more, you don’t have to take care of him, you don’t have to protect him. He can do what he wants. It’s not your place to tell him that he can’t. And I understand where you’re coming from, of course I do, but that doesn’t mean that you can do this to Zitao. You can be angry with him, of course you can, but you can’t lash out at him. You can’t _hurt_ him, just because you disagree with his decisions. And trust me, he’ll be getting the same talking-to, because I _know_ that he threw the first punch, but you need it just as much as he does.”

Minho hissed quietly. “Fine. But I’m not going to talk to him. I’m not going to apologize. I’m not going to work with him, not now.” Leeteuk nodded. “I’ll be in the gym.”

“Alright.” Leeteuk turned, made his way outside quickly, where he found Zitao sitting on the concrete steps, glaring at the buildings across the street. “Zitao.”

“He told me that he would kill me if I turned. Said he’d put his stake right through my heart, and then burn my body in front of Sehun, before he killed him, too.” Leeteuk nodded once, sat down beside Zitao. “He threatened my _mate_ , Leeteuk, of course I punched him. If I told you that I would kill Heechul, you’d punch me, I have no doubt.” Leeteuk nodded again. “I hate him. He and I were friends, once, but now…now that he knows I’m going to turn, he wants me dead. He’d rather I was dead, than a vampire. And I hate that.”

“I know you do. I spoke to him about it. It isn’t his place to tell you what you can and cannot do, but Zitao, you have to remember what happened to him. And that doesn’t excuse the fact that he punched you back, but please remember that it isn’t…it’s not okay to hurt people just because you disagree with them.” Zitao was nodding slowly, tears in his eyes. “Go home, Zitao. I’ll go talk to the girls. We’ll get them sent off to the Council within the week. Tell Sehun what happened, but don’t let him leave you alone. I don’t want him to go after Minho. I want you two to avoid each other, for a while. We’ll deal with it, you have my word, we’ll work through this, but right now, I need to focus on the Council, and on Hakyeon.” Zitao nodded, and got to his feet. “Take care of yourself, please. And don’t…please don’t do anything that you’ll regret.”

“I won’t.” Zitao walked away, but then stopped, looked back at Leeteuk. “Heechul, uh, he texted me. Told me about what happened. And Leeteuk, I…I want you to know that it’s your choice. And that you…if you think that you’ll regret it, it’s probably wrong. But also…also don’t feel bad. Don’t let him make you feel guilty for doing what you want. Don’t do it for him. Do it for you. Do it because it’s what you want.” Without another word, Zitao spun on his heel, and walked away quickly, leaving Leeteuk sitting on the stairs, head in his hands.

***

“It’s always bewildered me, you know.”

“What?”

“Their ability to make a mess out of everything.” The vampire turned to face his companion, who smiled gently at him, stepped closer. “I didn’t have to do anything, this time, to divide them. They did that all on their own. And even last time, all I had to do was make one little comment, and it _ruined_ them.” A long silence, as his companion circled to stand behind him, pressed his mouth to his shoulder. “How are your children doing? Feeding normally, I hope? Better than Jongin did, at least? Not that that’s hard to do.”

“They want to see you again. Especially Mark. He misses you. What was it he said the other day?” He paused in thought, and then spoke again. “He wants to kiss you more. Something about your mouth, how it’s so soft and lovely.”

“Was he drunk, when he said that?”

“Mm, no. When he’s drunk, he doesn’t shut up about your skin. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was in love with you.” They both laughed quietly. “You should come see them again, though. Yugyeom’s itching for a fix. You know how he gets when you stay away for this long. Although, he’s been a little bit of a brat lately. Maybe he doesn’t deserve it.”

“He’s feeding, though? Regularly?”

“Yes, of course. They all are.” He paused awkwardly. “Well. Except BamBam.”

Tense silence filled the room. “Say that again.”

“I…BamBam isn’t feeding properly. He won’t…won’t even leave his room, when we go out to feed. He doesn’t look me in the eyes, not ever, so I can’t compel him, and even when I manage to do _that_ , it wears off in seconds. He…he’s got a strong will, and I love that, but he…it’s killing him. And I hate that. I hate…Hakyeon, he’s trying to kill himself.”

“He’s becoming what Jongin was.”

“Yes.”

Hakyeon sighed quietly, spun on his heel, and walked away, pacing back towards Jackson seconds later. “I’ll come see him. Them. All of them.” He growled quietly, when he heard Jaehwan enter the room, Hongbin right on his heels. “What do you need?” Jaehwan came closer, to whisper softly in Hakyeon’s ear, quiet enough that the other vampires couldn’t hear him. “Alright. Alright. I’ll deal with it. I’ll deal with them. Send them to my office, tell them I’ll be there in a moment. Hongbin, take Wonshik and go run a patrol. Jaehwan, escort Jackson to the border, please.” Jaehwan nodded once, reached out to take Jackson’s hand, and led him towards the window. “And Jackson, don’t tell the kids that I’m coming. Let me surprise them.”

“Of course.”

Hakyeon made his way down the hallway, and into his office, where he found two vampires waiting for him. “My darling children.” Jongin was glaring at him, hand locked around Jongdae’s wrist. In his mind, Hakyeon could feel his hatred and anger and fury boiling, straining to get out. “What brings you here?”

Jongdae spoke quietly, half-hidden behind Jongin’s shoulder. “Seokjin wants you dead.” Hakyeon raised an eyebrow, a soft smile on his lips as he watched Jongdae closely. “He wants to kill you, for what you’ve done, to the humans, and…and other vampires. But…I’m sorry, this is stupid, let’s just go.” Jongin nodded, and started to pull Jongdae away, but Hakyeon stepped in front of him, blocking their path. “I…I don’t want you dead.”

“ _What_?” Jongin turned on Jongdae, eyes wide. “What did you just say? This is why you dragged me here, so you could tell him that you don’t want him dead? Are you kidding me?”

“I don’t think he’s a bad person. I think he’s made mistakes, in fact I _know_ that he has, but I also know that everyone makes mistakes. Think about it. You know what Ryeowook and Heechul did-”

“On Hakyeon’s orders!” Jongdae hissed, yanked his arm out of Jongin’s grip. “The only reason they did those things, the only reason that they were that way, is because of him. Have you forgotten that he _turned_ me? Have you forgotten what he did to _you_? How could you possibly tell me that he isn’t a bad person-”

“For the record, turning you was Heechul’s idea. I would know, I was there.” Jongin growled at him. “You know what, fine. You want him dead, you can help Seokjin kill him. But I will be _damned_ if I’m the one helping.” Jongdae backed away from Jongin, towards the window. “I understand that you hate him, for what he did to you. I get it, I do. But Jongin, we can’t move forward from this if you are going to continue to dwell in the past. We don’t need more death, we’ve have enough, we’ve had _more_ than enough.”

“I hate to break it to you, Jongdae, but we’re _vampires_. No matter what we do, no matter where we go, death follows us. We cannot escape from it, we cannot get away from it. You can’t _hide_ from what you are. So go ahead, crawl back into Hakyeon’s grip, for all I care. It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care.” He made his way to the door, still growling. “But mark my words, if you get in my way, I will kill you. If you try and stop me from ending him, then I will give you the exact same fate.”

“Yixing won’t let you.”

“Yixing can’t stop me.” Without another word, Jongin spun on his heel, and stormed out of the room, leaving Hakyeon and Jongdae alone.

“He wants you dead. They all do.” Hakyeon hummed quietly, as he threw himself down into a chair. “I don’t want you to die. I don’t like you, I don’t want you around me, after what you did, and I think Seokjin has a point, when he says he wants you punished, but-”

“You don’t think death is warranted.”

“No. No, I don’t.” Jongdae sighed quietly, gazing at Hakyeon rather sadly. “Tell me something.” Hakyeon nodded once. “Why did you kill so many? I did the math, the only way you would have killed them for food was if you had…if you were making an army.” Hakyeon smiled up at him serenely, fangs glistening. “Hakyeon, tell me that you aren’t…tell me you’re not building an army. You and I both know that the hunters can take that as an act of war. I don’t want there to be a war, we had enough of that back when I was newborn, I don’t want to deal with that again, not ever.”

“It’s not an army.”

“Then what? What are you doing?” Hakyeon was still smiling, and he motioned Jongdae closer. “Are they your children? Your other children?”

“Come, sit.” Jongdae nodded once, lowered himself into Hakyeon’s lap. “I’m sending a message, dear one. And besides, who said population control wasn’t responsible? The hunters needed to be reminded as to what I could do, and my children wanted to feed. Don’t you worry, we’re careful. We don’t kill people who’ll be missed. It’s mostly the homeless, the poor, the addicts. The only thing that my kids aren’t as good at is cleaning up after themselves. Hiding the bodies.”

Jongdae yawned, leaning subconsciously against Hakyeon. “Well, as long you aren’t…aren’t being stupid.” His words were slurring, and Hakyeon smiled up at him, watching closely as Jongdae’s pupils dilated, eyes wide and confused and innocent from Hakyeon’s compulsion. Hakyeon’s hands skimmed over Jongdae’s thighs, and Jongdae whined quietly. “Can…can I kiss you?” Hakyeon snickered quietly, and Jongdae whined again. “Please?” Hakyeon nodded once, and Jongdae leaned forward, pressed a kiss to Hakyeon’s mouth, before he leaned down to mouth at Hakyeon’s jaw, sucking gently, fangs sliding gently over his skin. “Missed you.”

“Did you?” 

“Yup.”

Hakyeon laughed quietly, as Jongdae continued to mouth, before biting down gently, drawing blood. “Oh, did I say you could do that?” Jongdae giggled as he fed, blood sliding down his neck. “Ah, my sweet little vampire. Always such a darling.”

“I sh-should _go_.” But instead of trying to pull away, Jongdae pressed closer, as his fangs retracted. “Should go home to my family. To…to Heechul and Joonmyun, and…and Yixing.” He sat up rather suddenly, eyes still wide. “Oh. Yixing.” He clambered off of Hakyeon’s lap, trembling. “Oh, gods, what have I done? I…I have to go.”

“Jongdae.”

“Yeah?” 

“Be safe.” Jongdae froze, confused. “And don’t do anything stupid.” Jongdae nodded quickly, and then scampered out of the room, leaving Hakyeon alone. After a few moments, he got to his feet, and followed Jongdae’s lead, but instead turned left once outside, into the forest. He walked for a long time, until the sun was shining and the animals were starting to move, and didn’t stop until he reached his destination – a large, beautiful house in the forest, less than a hundred feet from a small waterfall. He made his way up onto the front porch, and knocked gently on the door, before letting himself in. Seconds later, he had two vampires clinging to him, one pressing soft kisses to his face, murmuring words under his breath that Hakyeon couldn’t quite understand, the other mouthing at his shoulder, whining quietly in his throat. Hakyeon laughed quietly, but before he could say anything, he heard Jackson speak from across the room.

“Mark, Yugyeom, enough. At least let him take his shoes off and get past the foyer, please.” A few moments passed, and then both vampires released Hakyeon, stepped backwards. “I…I’m sorry about that. They heard you coming up the steps. They’re very excited to see you.” Hakyeon smiled softly, as he toed off his shoes, and then reached out to take Mark’s hand, led him forward. “Yugyeom, come here.” After a moment, the vampire obeyed, made his way to Jackson’s side.

“Where are the others?”

“Youngjae’s napping, Jinyoung’s in the library, Jaebum’s outside in the garden, and BamBam is upstairs sleeping. Or sulking. One of the two.” Hakyeon made a quiet sound, in his throat. “I know. He…when he heard you coming, he locked himself in his room.” Hakyeon hummed, as he walked around Jackson, and made his way through the living room, and to the back door. Outside, he could see Jaebum seating in the center of the garden, a duck in his lap, and two more waddling around him rather absently. “He…he’s, um, adopted them. The ducks, I mean. They just kind of showed up one day, and they took a liking to him, and he’s decided that he’s going to keep them.” Hakyeon nodded once, and then smiled, when he realized that Jaebum had turned, and spotted him. Within seconds, he had set the duck on the ground, and was pulling the door open.

“You’re back.” Hakyeon nodded, and Jaebum wrapped his arms around his neck, pulled him into a gentle hug. “Are you going to help BamBam? He’s hurting, so bad, and I don’t want him to hurt. He needs help.”

“I know. I’ll speak with him, and I’ll do everything I can to help.” Jaebum nodded once, as he pulled away. “I see you’ve made some new friends.” Jaebum smiled, looked away, embarrassed. “I won’t keep you, then. Go on.” With that gentle prodding, Jaebum slipped back outside, and bounded towards the ducks. After a few moments, Mark tugged gently on Hakyeon’s hand, and they allowed Jackson to lead the way to the library. When they stepped inside, they found Jinyoung laying on the couch, reading, with a snoozing Youngjae in his lap. As the door clicked shut behind them, Youngjae was startled awake, and knocked the book out of Jinyoung’s hand.

“’m sorry.” Youngjae murmured, pressed his face against Jinyoung’s shoulder, fingers touching gently at his skin, a silent apology in its own right. “Didn’t mean to.”

“It’s fine, Youngjae.” Jinyoung shifted Youngjae off of his lap, and reached down to grab the book, before getting to his feet. “It’s been a while. I thought Mark was going to cry if you didn’t come visit soon.” He paused. “Mm, I take that back. I thought he was going to drown us all in his tears if you didn’t come visit soon.” Mark made a quiet noise in protest, tugged gently on Hakyeon’s sleeve. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. You cried. I know you did, I was the one there to comfort you, all five times.”

“Shut _up_ , you’re being embarrassing again.” Youngjae snickered as he watched Jinyoung make his way towards Mark, before he stopped, looked over at Hakyeon.

“We did miss you though. Everyone except, well, BamBam. But that’s a whole different problem on its own, is it not?” Hakyeon nodded once, as Jinyoung slipped past him, to put the book back on its shelf, before leaving the library entirely. Youngjae whimpered quietly, scrambled after him, stopped only when Hakyeon reached out to grab his elbow.

“Calm down, little one. He’s going to check on BamBam. He’s not mad at you.” Youngjae whined quietly, fingers twining gently with Hakyeon’s. “Oh, go on, then, if you’re so desperate to apologize. But I can guarantee, love, that he’s not angry.” Youngjae nodded once, then pulled out of Hakyeon’s grasp, and left the room quickly. “Did you really cry, Mark?” After a long silence, Mark nodded slowly. “I gave you my phone number for a reason, you know. I expect, baby boy, that you call me if you want to talk to me.” Mark made a quiet noise in his throat, pressed into Hakyeon’s touch when the elder put a hand on his face. “We’ll talk. Later. And Yugyeom,” he looked over, to where Yugyeom was standing with Jackson, “I will also be having a conversation with you. Later.” Yugyeom nodded, and then Hakyeon made his way out of the library, and down the hallway, to the last door on the right.

He knocked gently, shooed Mark and Jackson and Yugyeon away. When no one answered, he knocked again. “BamBam, I know you’re in there, I can hear you breathing. Open the door.”

“No.”

After a few seconds, Hakyeon sighed quietly. “Shall I make you do it? It doesn’t take a whole lot, you know, for me to compel you, even if you aren’t looking at me.” A few seconds later, he heard the lock click open, and then heard BamBam scrambling away, as he opened the door, and stepped inside. BamBam was sitting on the bed, sniffling quietly, trying to wipe away his tears so Hakyeon wouldn’t see that he’d been crying. “BamBam.” He didn’t look up, even when Hakyeon climbed up onto the bed, to sit beside him. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself. You know you can’t kill yourself like this, we’ve had this conversation, it doesn’t work like that. All you’ll end up doing is killing more people. Let me help you.” BamBam shook his head. “I’ve told you about Jongin. Do you really want to end up like he did? Because you remember what I told you had to happen? He had to be forced to feed.” BamBam sniffed delicately, and Hakyeon put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You need to let Jackson help you, sweetheart. He’s very good at it, you know how well he did with the others.”

“But I don’t want-”

“To hurt anyone, I know. I know, sweetheart.” After a few seconds, BamBam crawled into Hakyeon’s lap, still crying quietly. “Oh, sweetheart. I wish I could introduce you to Jongin. I wish you could meet him, he’d be good for you. He’d help.” BamBam whined quietly, mouthed at Hakyeon’s neck, pulled his shirt aside so his mouth could meet Hakyeon’s collarbone. “He’d be very good for you.”

“Why can’t I meet him?”

“He and I aren’t on very good terms right now.” BamBam nodded slowly in understanding, fingers tugging absently at Hakyeon’s clothes. “Let’s get you outside. You need to hunt, pretty boy.”

***

It was getting dark when Minho returned to Taemin’s house. He let himself in quietly, did his best to shut the door quietly before toeing off his shoes and walking into the kitchen. He set his bag on the counter, and reached inside, pulled out a box of cookies.

“Minho?” He looked up quickly when he heard Taemin speak, found the vampire standing into the doorway, looking small and fragile and like he’d been crying for the past three days. “Are you alright?” Minho shrugged, finished putting away the food that he’d brought home, before looking at Taemin once more. “Um. Can I…” He trailed off quietly, and stepped forward. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Taemin whimpered quietly, and Minho pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry.” Minho hummed quietly, pressed his face into Taemin’s neck. “I missed you.”

“Did you feed while I was gone?” Taemin went still, but didn’t answer. “Taemin.” After a few seconds, Taemin nodded. “Are you lying to me?”

“No.”

Minho made a quiet noise in his throat, reached up to thread his fingers into Taemin’s hair, and tug his head backwards, exposing his neck. Taemin whined quietly in his throat, and Minho shushed him, before speaking quietly. “Are you,” he paused, grip tightening, pulling a whimper from Taemin’s lips. “lying to me?”

“Yes.” Taemin’s eyes fell closed, and in the back of his mind, Minho could hear Taemin’s mind whispering quietly. _Don’t do it don’t do it don’t do it_ \- He cut off with a soft whimper when Minho sighed quietly, released his hair. “I’m sorry.” Minho ignored him, made his way towards the kitchen sink, washed his hands quickly. “Minho-”

“Go sit at the table.” After a moment, Taemin nodded, and walked towards the table, before sitting down. After Minho turned the water off, he dried his hands, and rolled up his sleeves, to his elbows.

“I can do it-”

“Clearly you can’t, or you would have already.” Taemin nodded once, silently. “And get that look off of your face.” After a few seconds, Taemin put his head in his hands, whining quietly. Minho came towards him, pulled his hands away, and pressed them into the table. “You must feed when you’re hungry, Taemin.” The vampire nodded slowly, avoiding Minho’s gaze. “Show me your fangs.” Taemin obeyed, opened his mouth to reveal his fangs, white and pearly. Minho released Taemin’s hands, and circled around to stand behind him, put his hands on Taemin’s shoulders. He grabbed Taemin’s jaw in one hand, gentle, before his free wrist came around to press gently against Taemin’s mouth. “Go ahead. You’re allowed.”

Taemin was trembling, when he bit down on Minho’s wrist, drawing blood. Minho winced, but didn’t speak, as Taemin fed, fingers stroking gently at the vampire’s jaw. When Taemin released him, Minho pulled away, reached for the first aid kit on the shelf. “Go wait for me in the bedroom.” Taemin nodded, got to his feet, and slipped out of the room, leaving Minho alone. Minho smiled fondly as he cleaned his wound, before bandaging it quickly, and putting the kit away. After a few seconds, he walked out of the kitchen, and down the hallway, before stepping into the bedroom and shutting the door behind him. Taemin was sitting on the bed, fidgeting. “Sit still.” Minho reached for the collar of his shirt, and started to unbutton, before allowing the fabric to slide off of his shoulders. He set the shirt in the laundry basket, before he turned back towards Taemin. “Tonight,” Taemin’s breath hitched, as Minho came towards him, fingers toying with his collar. “I want you to scream for me, sweet Taemin.” Taemin whined quietly, as Minho’s fingers slowly trailed down his chest, to tug on his shirt, pulling it up over Taemin’s shirt. “Can you do that?”

“I can.”


	17. breathe

Leeteuk had known that Minseok would tell Luhan, and that Luhan would be angry, but he had underestimated just _how_ angry the hunter would be at him. When he stepped into Luhan’s office, he was immediately met with not one, not two, not three, but _four_ hunters glaring at him. Luhan was seated behind his desk, with Seungri and Minho and Kibum standing behind him. Minseok was sitting in a chair off to the side, decidedly ignoring everything that was transpiring not five feet away from him. Leeteuk sighed quietly, bracing himself for what he knew would turn into a massive argument, before he spoke softly. “I can explain.”

Luhan’s upper lip twitched in irritation. “Can you? Can you _really_ , Leeteuk, explain to me why you’ve done everything that you have, in the past few weeks? Why you’ve show absolute disregard for my position as lead hunter, why you’ve decided to go over my head and speak before the Council on a matter that we had already made a decision on, why you and your little friends have _pardoned_ a vampire for turning one of our hunters without his consent, and furthermore, why you have violated the hunter’s code on more than one occasion? Because truly, I’m desperate to know how you think you can explain all of that.”

Leeteuk’s jaw clenched, but he fought to keep himself steady, held himself still for a few seconds before he spoke again. “I will have you know,” he paused, took a deep breath, fighting to stay calm. “that I never _once_ violated the code. Yes, I went over your head, and yes, I disregarded your authority, but I would _never_ willingly violate the principles that I swore to uphold when I became a hunter. You know me better than that. You know I would never. Furthermore, you were never going to let us send Lisa and Jennie before the Council, you were never going to give them a chance at becoming Lady. But the fact of the matter is, Luhan, we need them. We have no other options. We are running out of time. Since you care about the rules so much, then you’ll remember the consequence for not being able to present a candidate when it comes time to elect a new Lady.” Luhan’s eyes narrowed. “I agreed to help Seokjin. I’m going to assume that Minseok was the one who told you that-”

“Do _not_ bring my mate into this, do not try to blame him for your wrongdoings.”

“If you would _listen_ to me – and trust me, Luhan, I know that you’ve been struggling to _listen_ for the past few months, but do it for me this _once_ \- you would know that I was going to say that I agreed to help Seokjin because I realize that there are bigger things at stake here than one vampire, and his vampire children, and their hunter lovers. The fact of the matter is, they don’t matter. They have only done what they did to get to Hakyeon, who we’ve established is the real bad guy here. He is the one who wants you dead, he is the one who wants to kill all of us, he is the one who has sent vampire patrols to kill us, that is how much he hates us, and for the name of all that is holy, Luhan, if Seokjin wants him dead as much as I do, then I am going to let him help us.” Leeteuk fell silent for a long moment, breathing hard. “And I will do it, even if you won’t. If I have to leave the hunters, and denounce my part in the Association, and give up my title, and my stake, and my family, then I will do it if it means getting Hakyeon off of the Earth. He cannot be left alive any longer; he will kill us all if we allow him to live. And as much as you hate vampires, I’d have hoped that you would allow us to work with Seokjin just to make sure Hakyeon is disposed of.”

Luhan seemed lost for words, too angry to speak, as he gazed at Leeteuk. After a few seconds of silence, Minho spoke for him, voice quiet and furious. “And Kyungsoo? You’d pardon Seokjin after what he did to Kyungsoo?”

Leeteuk growled. “I knew I was forgetting something. You think I’m pardoning him? You realize, I hope, that Kyungsoo is a fully trained, fully grown hunter, although he might not look like it. He is more than capable of consenting to these things on his own. I trust him, I trust Jongin, when they tell me that he agreed to this on his own. Seokjin didn’t force him. I’m inclined to believe that Seokjin is more than aware of the fact that if he turned any hunter by force, I’d gladly put a stake through his chest.” Minho scoffed quietly. “Look, I get it, you hate vampires. All of you do. I don’t care. But when that hatred gets in the way of us doing our job, when it hinders us from protecting the humans, that’s when I take issue with it. So, yes, Luhan, in case you were wondering, I’m going to continue doing what I was doing before you came barging in. I’m going to continue doing what I have to do to protect the humans, I’m going to work with Seokjin to end Hakyeon, and if you want me dead by the end of it, then so be it. I will let you kill me. But if you _dare_ try and get in _my_ way while I am doing this, I will be the first to draw my stake, and you can trust me when I say that I will not be pointing it at a vampire. If you get in my way, Luhan, I’ll point it at you, and if I have to, if you decide that I’m no longer allowed to continue, then I will _make_ you get out of my way.”

Leeteuk straightened up to his full height, and gazed at them for a long moment, before Kibum spoke quietly. “So I take it you’ve decided to turn. That’s why you’re trying to get on Seokjin’s good side, so that when you go blood-crazy, he can try to keep you alive.”

Leeteuk stilled, turned his gaze on Kibum. “Even if that were the case, would you blame me? You think I _want_ to be the bloodthirsty monster that kills people? You think I want to be like the monsters that killed Minho’s parents, that killed my parents, that turned your brother, and killed the rest of your family not days after the three of you were bound? Let me assure you of something, Kibum. I will _never_ become a vampire, I swear on my stake.” He spun on his heel, ignoring the indignant little noise that Luhan made, before walking out of the room, and slamming the door behind him.

Zitao and Seunghyun were waiting for him, and as he made his way down the hallway, he spoke quickly to them. “We’re in trouble. They’ll cut us off as soon as they figure out who we are, how far our reach extends into the hunters. We can’t stay separated like this, that will be our downfall. I will not lose this war because of him, them. Because of their stupidity. Hard-headedness. Whatever you want to call it.” He paused, glanced over his shoulder, before he spoke again. “I need one of you to stay behind, gather those who are on our side, and bring them…bring them to Heechul’s home. Whoever doesn’t stay will come with me.” Zitao and Seunghyun exchanged a glance, and Zitao nodded slowly.

“I’ll stay. Luhan knows that Zitao is on your side.”

Leeteuk nodded, as Seunghyun turned the corner, and vanished through a doorway.

“The girls had a hideout. There’s some stuff stashed there, stakes and runes and the like. If you want-”

“No, I need you with me. I’ll send someone to do it. But right now, we need to speak to a friend of mine. Well, two of them. Come with me.” He led Zitao the opposite way that Seunghyun had gone, down a flight of stairs, and outside. It was dark, the sun had just set, and they walked quickly, ignoring the occasional glance from other people on the street. Finally, they reached a small, discreet little building just off the main road, and Leeteuk led Zitao inside.

It was warm, that was the first thing that Zitao noted, warm and humid, and it smelled like an odd combination of wine and cinnamon. He looked around, eyes adjusting quickly to the dim lighting, gaze finding the pair of women seated at a table quite easily. Leeteuk made his way towards them, and sat down opposite, motioning for Zitao to join them. “Rosé, Jisoo. I need your help.”

One of the women, a pretty little ginger, smiled softly at Leeteuk. “We know. I saw it. A great struggle, sweet Leeteuk, one that causes you so much more pain than you’d like to admit.” He looked away quickly, before turning back to her as she continued to speak. “Regardless, dear one, I am here to help. If it is within my power, I will do it for you.” Leeteuk nodded slowly, and then extended his hand. The woman reached out to take it, and Zitao noted the way her companion shifted rather uncomfortably when their hands met. “Ah, my sweet Leeteuk, so much pain, so much struggle. Why do you do this to yourself?” He opened his mouth to speak, but she waved his answer off with her free hand. “You care so much about them, all of them. You don’t want to hurt anyone, but doing what you do…it’s so hard to avoid. You do everything you can to hurt the least amount of people. So noble, ever since you were small.” Her companion’s eyes flitted up, to the door, and then back to the woman’s hand. “This vampire, then, Hakyeon? Who is he?”

Her companion spoke before Leeteuk could. “He made Heechul. And his brothers, except for Kibum and Jonghyun.” The woman nodded slowly, eyes closing. “He’s killed so many. I met him once. Horrible. His aura was wrong, so wrong, so twisted and dark and evil. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t love anyone, he never will. He’s lost all capability for love.”

Leeteuk nodded slowly, before he spoke quietly. “His maker, Seokjin-”

He cut off when the woman gasped, ripped her hand away. “You didn’t mention that Seokjin was involved.” Leeteuk froze, absolutely speechless. “I’m sorry, you need to leave. I can’t…I’m sorry, I can’t help you, there’s nothing I can do. You need to go.” She got to her feet quickly, and her companion followed suit. “Jisoo, see them out.” Without another word, she slipped through a door into what Zitao assumed was a back room.

“You need to go.” The other woman – Jisoo – spoke quietly, but firmly, ushered them towards the door. “I’m sorry. If it were anything else, we would be happy to help, but in this situation, we can do nothing. I apologize for wasting your time.” Without saying anything else – and before either of them could speak – she had pushed them out the door, and shut it behind them.

Within seconds, a trio of vampires had appeared out of the shadows. One of them grabbed Zitao, yanked him out of Leeteuk’s reach, before he even had a chance to try and process who he was seeing. Before he could say – or do – anything, one of them spoke, and that was when he realized that Seokjin was standing in front of him. “You didn’t mention that you knew a sorceress.” His voice was soft, gentle, smooth, as usual, but it had an unusual accusatory edge, something that had the hairs on the back of Leeteuk’s neck standing up.

“You didn’t ask.” Seokjin chuckled quietly, as he slid a hand through the crook of Leeteuk’s elbow, and all but dragged him down the street, ignoring the little noise he made in his throat. “Ow, Seokjin, what’s going _on_?”

“I don’t know that our little arrangement is going to work, Leeteuk. This new…development is truly something I was unprepared to deal with. I hadn’t realized that you knew that woman, if I had, I never would have bothered to come here, to help you.” His voice hadn’t changed, and after a few seconds, Leeteuk realized that there was the softest hint of compulsion bleeding into his voice. “But don’t you worry, I’ll make sure that you and Zitao get home alright.”

“Where is he?” Seokjin stilled, smiling serenely at Leeteuk, as he motioned off to the side of the road, where another vampire – Jungkook, that was his name, Leeteuk remembered now – was wrestling a stubborn Zitao to the ground, while the third vampire watched on. Even from here, Leeteuk could tell that Zitao was bleeding, and that it was starting to get to Jungkook. “We can get home just fine on our own, Seokjin, thank you. My apologies for not giving you my entire contacts list the first time we met.” That end bit was tacked on as an afterthought, and when Leeteuk saw the fury that it ignited in Seokjin’s eyes, he almost regretted it.

“If you think for a _second_ that I intend to let you out of my _sight_ , you’re quite mistaken, Leeteuk.” Before Leeteuk knew what was happening, Seokjin’s grip had tightened, and they were continuing down the street, towards what Leeteuk quickly recognized as the hunter building. “Oh, sorry, Zitao, what was that? You don’t…don’t want to go home? Oh, well, that’s unfortunate, because that’s where I’m taking-”

“Let him go.” They all stilled when they heard Heechul speak quietly. He was standing in front of Seokjin, staring the vampire down, Ryeowook at one shoulder, Jongin at the other, looking just as murderous as ever. Seokjin chuckled quietly, grip shifting so he could get his other hand onto Leeteuk’s free arm, locking him in place. “Seokjin, I swear on my life, if you do not let him go, I will kill you.” Seokjin merely laughed again, absolutely delighted at Heechul’s word choice. “Jungkook, if you bite him, I will cut off your dick.” Jungkook stilled, which allowed Zitao to land a solid punch on his jaw before Yoongi intervened, stepped in between the pair. “Let my mate go.”

“And if I don’t? You can’t take him by force, pretty Heechul. You’d have to rip him out of my grip, and you know humans can’t take as much as we can. That would kill him. So what are you going to do, love?” Heechul’s upper lip twitched, and he looked over at Zitao for a split second. “You’re running out of time to make a decision, pretty boy. You might want to make up your mind soon, or I’ll decide for you.”

A few seconds passed, and then Ryeowook stepped forward, until he stood right in front of Leeteuk and Seokjin. Seokjin smiled softly at Ryeowook, who took a few moments to collect himself before he spoke. He looked like he was warring with himself. “You owe me.” Seokjin didn’t speak for a long moment. “Let him go.” After a few seconds, Seokjin did, and Leeteuk scrambled to join Heechul. “Zitao, too.” Seokjin sighed quietly, and nodded. Seconds later, Zitao had moved quickly to stand by Leeteuk’s side. “Rosé doesn’t want to hurt us anymore. She’s Leeteuk’s sister, she wants to help him. I’ll take Jimin and Taehyung, we’ll go speak to her.”

“Fine.” Seokjin looked unhappy, and Leeteuk didn’t blame him. “We’ll speak tonight, Heechul. We’ll figure this out.” Heechul nodded, hand winding around Leeteuk’s waist. “Go home. Get the hunters out of here.” Without another word, he spun on his heel, and walked away. Yoongi and Jungkook followed, and before they got out of earshot, Leeteuk heard Seokjin speak to them. “Make sure that the bitch is taken care of. I don’t need her getting in my way, not this time, not again. I will not let her stop me.”

***

“Can we talk?” Minho sighed quietly when he heard Zitao speak behind him. He ran a hand through his hair, pressed his fingertips against his temples. Zitao didn’t speak as he came around to sit in front of Minho, hands resting on the table. Minho glared at him, jaw clenched. Zitao took a few moments before he spoke again. “Surely you understand what’s happening.” Minho didn’t answer. “Gods, I had hoped that I might be able to get through to you. I had hoped that you would understand.” Even that didn’t garner a response, and Zitao sighed. “We are being torn apart, Minho. The hunters. All of us.” Minho got to his feet, ignoring the wounded look that flashed across Zitao’s face. “You’re angry, at me, I understand that. I understand why. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that the hunters are getting hurt in our conflict. Our little argument isn’t helping anything. We have responsibilities, to the humans, and we can’t protect them if we can’t get our own shit together.” After a few seconds, Minho nodded slowly, turned on his heel to face Zitao. “We are broken, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

“You aren’t wrong.” Zitao looked surprised to hear those words leave Minho’s lips. “We can’t keep doing this. It’s ruining the hunters, it’s ruining our lives. I can tell that it’s hurting Taemin. He hates the way I’ve treated you. He won’t tell me that, but I know. He understands my choice, he…doesn’t like it, but he’ll learn to live with it. But for me to…to tell you, that you’re being stupid for wanting to turn…that hurts him. Because regardless of what happened to me, he chose to turn, and for me to imply that doing so is a stupid decision…it makes him look back on what he did and question whether or not he made the right decision.”

“I understand.”

“I don’t think you do, but alright.” Minho sighed, looked over his shoulder to find Taemin standing in the doorway. “Give us a moment, pretty boy.” Taemin nodded once, and retreated back into the bedroom. “Something needs to change. Luhan and Leeteuk, at this point, would rather kill each other than try to solve any of our problems.” Zitao nodded, rolled his shoulders backwards. “We need to get rid of Hakyeon. I agree with Leeteuk on that.”

“How do you propose we do that?” Minho sighed quietly, shrugged. “Leeteuk wants to work with Seokjin to get it done. And I think that would work, but…it would kill so many people. Like it or not, Hakyeon has forces who support him. It’s not just him that we’re fighting, there’s others, and we can’t do it by force without a fight. A fight against vampires, especially angry vampires, never ends well for hunters.” Minho nodded slowly. “However, we have to remember that Hakyeon’s not just going to roll over and let us kill him. This will come to a fight, whether we want it to or not.” 

“I know.” Minho ran a hand through his hair, teeth sinking into his lower lip. “I worry, though, about whether or not Leeteuk knows what he’s doing. He’s so distracted.” Zitao nodded once. “With what’s going on between him and Heechul, and the thing with Luhan, and the other thing, with the girls, and us, he has so much on his mind.” Zitao looked up when he saw Taemin appear again, but didn’t say anything to Minho about it. “I’m going to ask him to let me handle it. He has no more authority in this than we do.”

“You’re going to kill Hakyeon?” Minho sighed quietly when he heard Taemin speak, put his head in his hands. “You need to tell Heechul and his brothers if you’re going to do it. They’ll want to help, and if they don’t, they deserve to know that you’re going to kill their maker.” Minho nodded, and then Taemin spoke again, this time far more hesitant. “Jongdae doesn’t want him to die. He wants Hakyeon to live.” Minho growled quietly. “I know you don’t care, but Heechul might, and, well, Hakyeon is _their_ maker. If you were going to kill Heechul, I’d want a say in it.”

Minho reached out to take Taemin’s hand, pulled him closer. “I’ll figure it out. I always do, don’t I?” Taemin nodded slowly, wrapped his arms around Minho. “We have to make sure that Leeteuk stays focused. We can’t have him distracted.” Zitao nodded. “I want you to deal with the girls. Get them where they need to be, make sure everything goes smoothly with the Council.” Minho pulled out his phone, dialed a number quickly. In seconds, Seunghyun picked up, and Minho spoke quickly. “Seunghyun, I’ll catch you up later, but I need you to do something for me. For the hunters.” Seunghyun murmured a quiet affirmation. “I need you to speak to Luhan. We’re on the brink of a war, and he’s not…not okay. And while you’re at it, tell Leeteuk that I want – need – him to focus on him and Heechul. They’re not okay, but don’t tell him I said that.”

“Minho, I don’t know that _you’re_ okay.”

“Later, Seunghyun. We can have that discussion, later.” Without another word, Minho hung up on Seunghyun, and looked at Zitao again. “I’ll handle the war.”


	18. warning

Jiyong smiled softly to himself when he felt Seunghyun slide into bed behind him. He didn’t move, held still as the hunter slipped an arm around his waist, tugging him backwards. His breathing was steady, controlled, but Jiyong could hear his heart jumping about in his chest. He was upset, distressed, afraid, angry, all of those things rolled up into one ugly little package. A long silence, before Seunghyun pressed a kiss to Jiyong’s neck, and spoke softly. “I love you, so much.” He didn’t know, then, that Jiyong was awake. “I’m so glad I met you. So glad I kidnapped you, I suppose.” Jiyong smiled to himself. “You’re so beautiful, so soft and lovely, and wonderful, you’re always so wonderful for me.” Jiyong had to bite back a soft sound of pleasure as Seunghyun pressed his mouth to his shoulder. “What a good little vampire I have here. Always so soft.” His hand traveled down, to press against the inside of Jiyong’s thighs. “I want to kiss you, all day long.”

“So why don’t you?” After a moment, Seunghyun chuckled quietly, pressed a kiss to the back of Jiyong’s neck. He rolled onto his side, to face Seunghyun. “We could, you know. We could stay here, forever.”

“I wish I could, baby.” Jiyong pressed his mouth to Seunghyun’s jaw, lips sliding down his neck and onto his collarbone. “I have to stop a war. Luhan needs me, the hunters need me, and I need to help them.” Jiyong pouted, sliding his mouth down Seunghyun’s chest, pausing at his waist. “Mm, sweetheart, aren’t you tired? You were asleep when I came in. I’m sorry that I woke you.” Jiyong snickered quietly, smirking up at Seunghyun. “Oh, go on, then, if you’re so excited.” Jiyong giggled, as he pulled Seunghyun’s pants down, pressed a kiss to his hipbone. “Ah, sweet little darling. Always so good for me.” Seunghyun smiled down at Jiyong, as Jiyong took the head of his cock in his mouth. “You look so good like this, sweet boy.” Jiyong hummed softly, as he held still, gazing up at Seunghyun patiently. “Well, sweetheart? Are you going to suck my cock, or not?”

After a few seconds of silence, Jiyong moved, came back up to balance over Seunghyun on his elbows. “I want to help.” Seunghyun sighed quietly, and Jiyong huffed. “You always do this. You always tell me how much they need you, how much you need to help them; why can’t I help you help them? They’re my family too, you know, I care about them just as much as you do.”

“I- yes, baby, I know, I know you do. I’m not saying that you don’t. But you have to understand, little vampire, that I don’t want you to get hurt. If you’re out there helping us, you’re putting yourself in danger. If you’re out there with me, do you know where my focus will be? It won’t be on doing what I need to do to help Luhan, it will be on making sure that you are safe. And that puts everyone else at risk. I’m sorry, Ji, I love you, I promise, but I just…it’s too risky, I can’t.”

“But I want-”

“I know.” Jiyong pulled back, pouting. “Baby, please, trust me. I can’t…I can’t put you in danger like that, it would kill me to have you be…in that kind of a situation. Please, Jiyong, I- I need you to trust me. Please.”

“I do. Of course I trust you, Seunghyun, and I care about you, but I won’t let Hakyeon hurt-”

“You think I would? You think I would ever, ever let Hakyeon hurt any of them?” After a moment, Jiyong shook his head slowly. “You see? I wouldn’t let him hurt them. That is my promise to you, I swear it on both my stake and my life.” Jiyong bit down on his lower lip, wincing when his fang slid through, drawing blood. He hadn’t realized they were out. “You need to feed.” Jiyong looked away quickly, frowning. “It’s been too long. I can’t have you starving yourself, baby.” After a moment, Jiyong nodded, pressed a kiss to Seunghyun’s lips before moving his mouth to touch the hunter’s neck. “Go on.” Jiyong bit down, harder than perhaps was necessary to draw blood, pulling a soft noise out of Seunghyun’s mouth.

Seunghyun wasn’t entirely paying attention, so when he felt Jiyong pull away suddenly, he blinked his eyes open in confusion. “What the-” Then he saw what Jiyong had either heard or smelled, and he froze, hand clamping down on Jiyong’s wrist. “What in the love of fucking-”

The vampire standing by the window smiled serenely at him, fangs flashing in the dim light. “Here’s the thing about living in a building owned by a vampire. We don’t need permission to come and go.” Seunghyun’s jaw clenched, and Jiyong whined quietly, tugged his arm free of Seunghyun’s grip. “But you already knew that, didn’t you? That’s why you were so hesitant to stay with Jiyong.” Jiyong hissed quietly, before burying his face in Seunghyun’s shoulder. “Regardless, I’m not here to hurt you. You have my word, all that.”

“Jiyong, let me go.”

“Oh, go ahead, kill me. I don’t care.” That seemed to bring Seunghyun up short. “Sure, I work for – with – Hakyeon. Doesn’t mean I’m going to kill for him. Besides, I’d hate to hurt Jiyong’s feelings. I have a feeling that that _might_ be a mistake.” Before Seunghyun could question that, the vampire spoke again. “You might want to keep Jongdae off of the battle field. Oh, and the newborns, too. Hakyeon has very special plans for them.” Seunghyun stilled, coming to the realization that that meant his brother. “Oh, and getting the hunters united would be very, very helpful. I have it on good authority that you’ll lose a lot more of your friends if you humans are divided in this conflict.” He turned towards the window, and then paused. “Look, I know you don’t trust me. You have every reason not to. But I think you do trust Jiyong.”

Again, he moved to leave, but before he could, Jiyong had done so already, grabbed him by the wrist, and yanked him backwards. “He’s your maker.” The vampire nodded slowly. “How do we know that he didn’t just compel you to come here and tell us this?”

There was silence, for a long moment, before the vampire spoke. “I guess you don’t. I guess it comes down to whether or not you trust me. You don’t have to, of course. That’s your choice. But I would highly advise it.” He pulled free, gently, and then stepped out of the window, leaving them alone.

***

Leeteuk had found it difficult to drag himself out of bed that morning, with Heechul’s promise weighing on his mind. He sighed quietly, ran a hand through his hair, as he made his way down the street, deep in thought. He didn’t want to be like that, like Siwon and Kyungsoo and even Han Geng, lost in the bloodlust, a fraction of what they had been as humans. He highly doubted he would ever want that. Carefully, he touched a hand to the bruises that Seokjin had left on his arm, wincing when he pressed too hard. That was his proof, his hard, undeniable proof, that underneath all of their fancy _we only hurt humans if we need to_ and _I’m such a good vampire, look at me_ talk, they were still vampires. Still monsters. Still his enemy.

He turned the corner, and as he did so, his fingers wrapped around the pendant hanging around his neck. He was shaking, he realized that now, as he walked alone down the dark alleyway, not bothering to look over his shoulder. If a vampire wanted to, they could kill him easily; he was unarmed, and alone, and no one knew he was here.

“You sound like you’ve given up.” He stopped when he heard the vampire speak quietly, voice soft and gentle and the opposite of what he had expected. “You sound like you don’t think there’s a point in fighting anymore, whether it’s for your own life, or your own happiness, or whatever it was you were fighting for before.” Leeteuk didn’t answer, didn’t move, even when he felt the vampire circling him. “My maker sent me with a warning.” Leeteuk raised his chin, a silent invitation to continue. “I don’t remember exactly what he said, but I’ll paraphrase as best I can. If you remain divided, you will lose so many of your friends, of your family.”

“How do you know?”

The vampire smiled, and Leeteuk could just make out the soft glint of his fangs. “Oh, I think you know exactly how I know, pretty hunter. And I’ll let you in on a little secret, if you’re willing.” After a moment, Leeteuk shrugged. “This conflict ends in you turning.” Leeteuk straightened, spine going rigid. “But the choices you make now will affect who turns you.” The vampire drew backwards, but he was still there when Leeteuk spoke.

“Heechul wouldn’t.”

The vampire cackled rather gleefully, a juxtaposition to his voice prior. “I think, pretty hunter, that there’s a great deal that Heechul would do that you don’t know about. Have you ever asked him about whose idea it was to turn Jongin? Who felt the insides of the kid’s mind and insisted that he become a vampire?” Leeteuk didn’t answer, trembling. “And I take it that he never mentioned what _he_ did to poor Ryeowook, did he?” Leeteuk bit his tongue, waited for the vampire to finish speaking. “And perhaps you should ask him why exactly Jiyong hates him so much.” Leeteuk stepped backwards, then, and the vampire made a quiet, thoughtful noise. “Just some details you might want to iron out before you decide whether or not he’d break that promise.”

And then he was gone.

Leeteuk’s body was rigid with panic as he made his way down the street, ignoring the questioning looks that were shot his way. He made it to headquarters in record time, pushed past both Seungri and Minho in the hallways, ignoring whatever they said to him, about how Luhan couldn’t be disturbed, because frankly, he didn’t give a fuck. He pushed the door to Luhan’s office open without any hesitation, the panic only lessening when he spotted Luhan engaged in what appeared to be a serious argument with another vampire. This one looked bored, as he gazed down at Luhan, gaze never leaving the hunter’s face.

“And furthermore, you can tell your maker that he can take his warning, and shove it up his sorry ass, for all I care!” Without another word, Luhan threw himself into his chair, jaw clenched in fury, and that was when he spotted Leeteuk. “ _What_ do you _want_? Have you not gotten enough of an argument in already, you needed to come back for more?” Leeteuk didn’t speak, his gaze on the vampire for a long moment, and clearly, the vamp saw something there that he deemed an acceptable response, as he slipped out of the window seconds later. “Why-”

“Let me guess. If the hunters don’t unite against Hakyeon, a lot of us will die.” Luhan shrugged, but Leeteuk knew him, knew him well enough to read, in his eyes, that he was right. “Luhan, we trained together. We were friends at the Academy. We’ve known each other since before we got our own stakes. We were friends before we were hunters.” Luhan didn’t speak, glared at Leeteuk in perfect silence. “You remember the story about Tamara?” That got Luhan’s attention, but he neither confirmed nor denied his memory of the story. “While the finer details have escaped me, I remember enough. We stopped sending lone hunters out for a reason. When we’re alone, we can’t fight off vampires.” Luhan exhaled, nostrils flaring as he gazed up at Leeteuk. “You realize, I hope, that we will die if we remain divided. I don’t know how many Hakyeon will bring to the fight, but I know that if the hunters are not together, we will die. And I won’t let that happen, not if I can stop it.”

“You believe the vampire?”

“Yes.” _I believe everything he told me, even the part about my turning. Whether or not Heechul would do it is still to be determined. But I do know that I need to talk to him, and I know that I love Heechul, and I love_ you _, Luhan, so please, don’t leave me alone in this, let me_ help. Leeteuk looked at Luhan for a long moment, searching his eyes for something that clearly wasn’t there. “I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose any of the hunters.” Luhan sighed quietly, put his head in his hands. “Have you heard from Zitao?”

“Why would he contact me? He hates me, and as far as I’m concerned, he doesn’t ever want to speak to me again.” Leeteuk nodded slowly, but didn’t speak, allowed Luhan to continue. “I’m assuming you sent him to the Council, with the girls.” It wasn’t a question, but Leeteuk thought he might need to answer anyways.

“Minho did.” 

Luhan did a double take. “Are you- you’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve lost _all_ of my senior hunters to this?” Leeteuk opened his mouth to speak, but Luhan cut him off. “No, don’t. Fine. Fine. If you _fools_ want to handle this by yourselves, that’s fine by me. Whatever. I don’t care.” Leeteuk looked wounded, as Luhan turned towards the window. “If you want unity, you’re going to have to unite the hunters, _without_ me. I won’t be a part of this. I won’t work with Seokjin. I won’t work with _you_.”

Leeteuk slapped him. Luhan’s head snapped to the side, and he gasped, stayed perfectly still and silent. “Luhan, for once, for _once_ , please pull your head out of your ass and just fucking _listen_ to me. The only thing I have done wrong, by the Council’s standards, was go before them without your consent, and they’re willing to forgive that, if what I do saves people. Everything else is just things that you have a problem with. Even working with vampires is allowed under the Code, with good reason, and I think Hakyeon is a _fantastic_ reason.”

Luhan turned his head to glare up at him. “Fine.” He spat the word, and Leeteuk raised a hand to wipe Luhan’s spit from his cheek. “ _Fine_. I will speak to Seokjin. I will speak to Minseok. And I will make the decision, about whether or not you are still one of my hunters. Am I understood?” Leeteuk nodded. “Good. Now get out.”

***

“Zitao.”

“That’s my name, yes.” He turned slowly, to face the vampire that had come up behind him, almost out of nowhere. “And yours? If you’re here to kill me, I think it’s fair that I know your name.”

“I’m not here to kill you.” Zitao raised an eyebrow, and the vampire hurried to speak again. “I have a message for you.” Before he could continue, the door opened, and Lisa stepped in, Jennie on her heels. When they spotted the vampire, they stopped, hands falling to their stakes, but Zitao shook his head, and they relaxed, although Lisa seemed reluctant to do so. “But if it makes you feel better, my name is Mark.” Zitao’s jaw clenched, and Mark sighed quietly. “My maker is named Jackson, and he’s Hakyeon’s child. You have my word, whatever it’s worth to you, that I haven’t been compelled to say this to you.”

Zitao bit his lip, took a moment of silence before he spoke again. “Alright. I guess…I guess. What are you here to tell me?”

The vampire shot a look at the girls, but didn’t comment on their presence. “The war.” Zitao raised an eyebrow, but didn’t speak. “The hunters need to be united, if they want to have a chance of winning without horrible sacrifice.” Zitao swallowed hard, and Jennie put a hand on his arm. “You don’t believe me?” Zitao shrugged, aiming for nonchalant. “If you don’t unite, families will be ripped apart, hunters and vampires alike will be torn from their mates, and, though the hunters might win the war, they will have lost so much to do so.” Zitao’s mouth went dry, but before he could try to say anything, Mark spoke once more. “These are the words of the gods.”

Zitao ran a hand through his hair. “I have to stay with the girls. They need a representative-”

Mark spoke, voice gentle. “The trial will end today. They will both remain here, at the end, and you will return home. I…I’ll send Taemin, for the sake of speeding things up.” Zitao was trembling, as he gazed at Mark. “I’m sorry, I have to go home.” He shot Zitao a look, a look filled with fear and anger and sadness. “Remember what I said.” Zitao nodded, as Mark made his way towards the window, and stepped out of it, leaving them alone.

Zitao turned quickly to the girls. “Are you ready?” Lisa shrugged, and Jennie didn’t answer at all. “It’s over, after today, the trial is. We might have won the battle, but the war is still being fought. I pray that this ends well, for all of our sakes.”

***

“I’ve been a hunter since I was a child. My parents were hunters before me, so it made sense that I…I would do the same. I attended the Academy, and while I wasn’t the brightest, I was one of the best warriors. That was enough to demand respect from the others, because what use is knowledge of magic when no one has it anymore, and a stake is what will save your life in the field? I said as much, to my friends who studied it, and they didn’t like me very much after that, but I wasn’t wrong. I knew that much. I knew that my uncle died because he couldn’t use a stake. I knew that, if I could help it, that wouldn’t be my fate.

“My classmates didn’t like me. I was too focused, they said, on the fight. Said I was more willing to kill a vampire than to follow the code, when it came down to it. Not that I cared. In my mind, after what happened to my family, I was under the impression that vampires were evil, that once you turned, you could never do good again. I was wrong, of course, but I didn’t know that at the time.

“This was, of course, before I met you. Before I met any of you. Before I was assigned to Luhan’s unit. But then, when that whole thing happened between Seunghyun and Heechul, and Sehun and Zitao, that was when I realized that maybe, _maybe_ not all vampires were evil. I didn’t like that realization, in fact, I _hated_ it. I hated Sehun and Jiyong, for being half-decent people, even if they were vampires. I hated Zitao, for telling me that I was wrong.

“If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I don’t like to be wrong. I don’t like having my beliefs challenged. It didn’t help, of course, that when we met for the first time, you were the exact opposite of what I had expected in a vampire. You were nice, and kind, and sweet and for the first time in my life, I found myself considering what Zitao had said, that not all vampires were out to kill us. And as time went on, I started to think about it, about us. This was before the conflict with Hakyeon, of course, but after that happened, I- I knew that I couldn’t wait any longer. Seeing Heechul almost lose Leeteuk killed me. I didn’t want to lose you, even if I didn’t have you yet. That was why I kissed you, you know. It wasn’t to shut you up, it was to determine, for myself, whether or not what I was feeling was real.”

“And?”

Seungri turned, to face Daesung as he came closer, before pressing a kiss to his mouth. “I still don’t want to lose you. And what I’m feeling is very, _very_ real.” Daesung smiled, touched an affectionate hand to Seungri’s face. “I love you.”

“And I love you.” Seungri flushed, before pulling away. “But the hunters need you more than I do.” Seungri pouted, and Daesung kissed him again. “Go. I’ll be here when you need me.” Seungri turned towards the door, and then stopped when he spotted the vampire standing there. “What are you doing here?”

Seungri sighed quietly at Daesung’s choice of words, but before he could say anything, the vampire spoke. “I have a message for your hunter.” Without another word to Daesung, he looked at Seungri. “Your mate is not wrong. The hunters do need you. They need to be united. A storm is coming, soon, and only by standing together can you hope to withstand it.” Seungri swallowed, looked quickly at Daesung, before facing the vampire again. “You need to go home, quickly.” Without another word, he vanished into the shadows, leaving them alone.

Seungri turned to face Daesung quickly. “I’m sorry, I-”

“Go. I’ll be here.” Seungri nodded, and then made his way to the door, pausing when Daesung spoke. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

***

Kyungsoo jumped about a foot in the air, and shoved Jongin away from him, when he felt the vampire arrive in the room. “Jesus _fucking_ -” He cut off when Jongin hushed him, wrapped an arm around his waist. “Who in the _fuck_ -”

The vampire looked near to tears as he gazed at them. He was frightened, that much Jongin could tell, and confused. Carefully, Jongin released Kyungsoo, and stepped towards the vampire, slowly enough that perhaps it wouldn’t startle him. “I’m sorry about him.” The vampire was quivering, and Jongin bit his lip. “He doesn’t get out much.” A smile tugged at the vampire’s lips before his face when stoic again. “What’s your name?”

“I-I-” He cut off, swallowing a soft noise as he gazed up at Jongin. “I’m BamBam.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, BamBam. I’m Jongin.” BamBam straightened, going tense as he gazed at Jongin. “Um. Are you alright?”

“I- you- you’re Hakyeon’s Jongin?” Jongin nodded slowly. “Um. Okay. Remind me that I need to ask you something, later.” Another slow nod, before BamBam looked at Kyungsoo. “That makes you Kyungsoo?” Kyungsoo nodded, trembling, as he put a hand on Jongin’s arm. “I’ve been sent with a message for you – well, for the hunter named Kyungsoo. But you’re not-”

“He’s still a hunter.”

BamBam nodded. “I- alright.” He inhaled slowly, and then spoke again. “My maker knows a sorceress, and she had a vision and showed it to him, and he showed it to us, and then sent us to find the senior hunters, um-” Jongin put a hand on his shoulder, and he fell silent for a moment before he spoke again. “Right. Um. She says that if the hunters don’t, you know, unite before this war, then, well, a lot of them are going to die.” He closed his mouth, and then looked quickly between Jongin and Kyungsoo. “You don’t believe me.”

“Um, no offense, BamBam, but you very easily could have been compelled-”

“I _wasn’t_!” BamBam was quick to protest the idea, ran a hand through his hair in distress. “I swear, on my life, I wasn’t compelled. My maker asked me to come here, and I agreed. He doesn’t want the hunters to die, and neither do I. I don’t want anyone to die. Well, except-” He bit his tongue, fell silent as he gazed at them. After a moment, Jongin leaned over to whisper quietly in Kyungsoo’s ear, and then he left the room, leaving Jongin and BamBam alone. “Do you believe me? I wasn’t compelled.”

“Who’s your maker?”

BamBam took a deep breath, still shaking. “His name is Jackson. He’s, um, he’s Hakyeon’s child, but he _hates_ Hakyeon with everything in his soul. He’s only playing nice because m-my siblings and I need to feed, I’ve seen that much in his mind.” Jongin touched a gentle hand to BamBam’s cheek, and the kid – newborn, he was a newborn, Jongin could see that now – went still. “Please believe me.”

“I do, I think.” BamBam relaxed, let out a quiet sigh of relief. “You wanted to ask me something. You’re more than welcome to.”

BamBam made a quiet noise, before he spoke. “Hakyeon told me about you.” Before he could say more, Jongin had grabbed his wrists, and pushed him backwards, into a chair. “H-he said you didn’t feed the way you were supposed to, that you were a hunter before you were a vampire, that you _hated_ him for turning you, that you had to be compelled to feed properly. Is that true?” Jongin shrugged, and BamBam spoke again, voice trembling. “I don’t like hurting them. I was a sorcerer, before I turned. It was my job to help people, heal them.”

Jongin nodded. “I understand.” BamBam put his head in his hands, looked up only when Jongin spoke again. “All of those things are true. I take it I’m his horror story that he uses on pretty little newborns like you, to convince them to feed the way he wants. That’s the one thing I’ll give him, he’s good at making sure that newborns don’t go crazy. If they’re willing. It didn’t work on us, did it?” BamBam shook his head, gazing into Jongin’s eyes. “Go. Go home to your family.” BamBam nodded, made his way towards the window, and then paused, when Jongin spoke. “And BamBam? Remember to feed.”

***

When Seokjin returned, to check on Kyungsoo and Jongin, they were both gone. He growled, as he paced through the room, trying to figure out who he was smelling, and then gave up, stormed out into the living room, where Yoongi and Jimin were sitting, facing each other. “Yoongi. Come with me. Jimin, call Jongin, find out where in the hell he is.” Jimin nodded quickly, pulled out his phone, as Yoongi followed Seokjin back into the bedroom. “Who was here?” Yoongi took a moment, sniffed around in the room, turned back the covers. “Please tell me that you know.”

“BamBam was here, he spoke to Jongin, but that was after Kyungsoo walked out of the room.” Seokjin sighed quietly, and Yoongi hurried to figure out the rest. “Then BamBam left. Um. Jongin followed Kyungsoo out into the hallway, they came back in here, they banged-”

“Get on with it.”

“Sorry. Um. So. After that, they fell asleep, and when Jongin woke up, Kyungsoo was gone.” Yoongi closed his eyes, concentrating. “I…I know this scent, I just…what the fuck is his _fucking_ name?” Seokjin put a hand on his shoulder, and Yoongi murmured a quiet apology under his breath. “Um. Hakyeon’s child. The creepy one. Not Jackson, um, what was his name?”

“Takuya?”

“Yes!” Yoongi straightened, as Jimin entered the room. He murmured something to Seokjin, before leaving the room again. “Jongin? Is he-”

Seokjin sighed. “He’s fine. He’s with Heechul. But Kyungsoo…Kyungsoo is gone.” Yoongi whined quietly, ran a hand through his hair. “I know. But we’ll get him back. We will, you have my word.” Seokjin pulled out his phone, and dialed a number raised it to his ear. “Luhan. We need to talk.” Yoongi wasn’t listening, and so Seokjin’s response startled him. “No. You’re not going to blow me off. This isn’t a fucking _game_ , Luhan, we are not children on the playground playing with toys, this is a war. Hakyeon has had Kyungsoo kidnapped.” That seemed to bring Luhan up short, and Seokjin glanced at the screen. If he hadn’t been a vampire, Yoongi was sure he would have fainted at the news he saw there. “Luhan, listen to me. No, just _listen_. Kyungsoo’s not the only one. Siwon and Han Geng are gone too.” Yoongi pulled out his phone when it vibrated it, swallowed, and then held it up so Seokjin could see. “Chanyeol and Kris, too. Your hunters are _vanishing_ as we speak, you are their leader, you need to do something.” Without another word, he hung up the phone.

“Come on. We’re going to see him.”


	19. loss

“This cannot be allowed to continue.” Seokjin was seething, as he paced in front of Luhan’s desk, teeth bared, a quiet growl leaving his throat whenever someone so much as moved. “I will kill him myself if it comes down to that. I will tear his stupid, unloving, ungrateful, undead heart out of his chest, and crush it in front of him as his vision fades. I will slaughter any vampire that gets in my way, blood relatives or not. I was planning on killing him already, but taking my God damn _child_ from me, from his mate, that was the last fucking straw.” To punctuate that statement, he snarled, before coming to a halt in front of Luhan.

“I don’t disagree with you. He has taken hunters, he has taken vampires, he has hurt both of us, in more ways than one. I will not allow that to keep happening, not so long as I can stop it.” His voice was quiet, steady, and gave no indication that he was feeling anything other than fury. “The message that Hakyeon was sending was straightforward enough. Leave me alone, or I’ll kill them. But he’ll hurt them, even if we stay away, and if we do that, he’ll keep them, he won’t give them back.”

“And what about what the other vampires said? Jackson and his children.”

Luhan closed his eyes in thought, and Leeteuk rather thought he looked like he had a headache. “I…I think they have a fair point. We’ve always been stronger together, we…we always will be, I think. That’s how hunters are. So, it makes sense that we have to unite together to do this, but I think it also means that we need to unite with the vampires. We can’t beat Hakyeon alone.” Leeteuk let out a quiet sigh of relief, as he leaned backwards in his chair, shot a look at Seungri. “Alright. These are my orders. Everyone is to be armed at all times. No hunter leaves this building without at least one other, and they must absolutely have a stake with them. If I get wind of _anyone_ venturing towards Hakyeon’s border, I will kill them myself.” Seungri nodded, and got to his feet, slipped out of the room. “Seokjin, you said you know who took them.”

Seokjin nodded slowly. “His name is Takuya. He’s one of Hakyeon’s children. Where Jackson and his family are kind and sweet and gentle, Takuya and his are evil and hungry and dangerous. They were…they were everything that – and pardon the reference – Hakyeon wanted Heechul to be. Jongin said that BamBam talked about Jackson’s soul; I am of the opinion that Takuya and his kids don’t _have_ souls.” Luhan leaned backwards in his seat, regarding those statements with silence. “They are ruthless killers, and they will not stop at anything until they get what they want, which is what Hakyeon’s wants. If he’s not happy, they aren’t happy, and if they aren’t happy, people die. To make a relevant comparison, Jackson is to Takuya what Taemin is to Minho. Except, well, they aren’t sleeping together.”

Luhan sighed quietly, head rolling backwards. “They’ll be at the fight.”

“Most of them. Hakyeon needs someone to guard his prisoners, and I doubt he trusts Jackson’s kids to do it. He doesn’t suspect them, not yet, anyways, because they’re so loving to him, but he knows that they’re soft. He knows that Siwon and Kyungsoo would be able to talk them into releasing all of them, and he can’t have that, can he?” Luhan shook his head, and then looked up, when Minho walked through the door, Jongin on his heels.

“Tell me you have good news.”

Minho pressed his lips together, shook his head. “It’s bad. It looks to be a pretty even mix of vampires and hunters. Ryeowook and Jiyong are working on figuring out why it was those individuals who were taken. They’re smart, we should know soon.” Luhan let out a frustrated noise, pushed himself to his feet. “We can’t waste any more time. We have to act now, Luhan, before it’s too late.” Luhan didn’t respond, as he made his way towards the window. “You are our leader. Give us orders, help us fix this.”

Luhan turned slowly on his heel, to face the hunters in the room. Leeteuk and Zitao were sitting side by side on the couch, spines rigid, mirror images of each other. Seunghyun was standing opposite Luhan, arms crossed over his chest. Minho was the only one who didn’t look scared or frustrated; he just looked angry. “Get the vampires here, now. No one leaves this building, not without my permission.” He made his way towards the door, and then paused. “This will end. And it will end with a stake through that _monster’s_ chest.” Without another word, he slipped out of the room.

After a few seconds of silence, Minho turned to face Seunghyun. “Go to Jiyong. I want to speak to Zitao alone.” Seunghyun nodded, and followed Luhan. Leeteuk was quick to do the same, only pausing when Minho put a hand on his arm. “We will fix this.” Leeteuk nodded silently. “Nothing bad will happen. We will stop him.” After a moment, Leeteuk followed after Seunghyun, pulled Jongin out of the room with him. Minho didn’t look at Zitao, until he heard the hunter get to his feet, and felt him place a hand on Minho’s arm. “Don’t touch me.” Zitao nodded, pulled his hand away. “I’m sorry. I need to talk to you.”

“Yes, I gathered as much when you said ‘ _I need to talk to Zitao alone_.’ What do you need to talk about?”

Minho shot him a look, but didn’t comment on the sarcasm. He knew where it was coming from. “I know that you love Sehun. I know that you want to stay with him forever.” Zitao nodded slowly, and stepped backwards. “The other day, Taemin told me-” He cut off with a sharp inhale, and looked away. “He told me that he loves me.” Zitao raised an eyebrow, clearly not seeing the problem. “And I left. I walked out of the room, and left him alone. We haven’t talked about it, but I can see how much it’s hurting him, that I didn’t say it back.”

“Would you have meant it, if you had?”

Minho swallowed hard. “I…no.” He took a deep breath. “He’s so special, he means so much to me, and it would kill me to lose him, but I…at the time, I couldn’t have said that, and meant it. And I would rather not say anything at all, than lie to him.” Zitao nodded slowly. “I don’t think I can, even now. But I don’t want him to hurt. I hate hurting him.” Zitao nodded again, and Minho let out a quiet breath. “Help.”

Zitao let out a quiet breath, and then put his hand back on Minho’s arm, despite his protest. “If you don’t love him, don’t tell him that you do. Don’t lie to him.” Minho nodded slowly. “But please tell him what you just told me. You can’t just leave him in the dark like that.” Another nod, and Zitao smiled at him. “You two will figure it out, you always do. But you have to talk, I think that’s the most important thing. That’s what Sehun and I always…if there’s a problem, we talk.”

“Okay. Okay. Thank you.” Minho stepped towards the door, and then stopped. “And Zitao?” Zitao nodded once. “I don’t hate you. And I don’t…I don’t hate your decision. And I’m sorry that I hit you.” Zitao’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Minho shook his head slowly. “You don’t have to apologize. It was my fault. I was the antagonist in that situation. You had a reason to hit me; my only excuse for hitting you was that I was angry. I’m sorry.”

***

“Good morning, my darling.”

Those were the words that woke Chanyeol. He blinked his eyes open, spotted Yifan gazing at him, and mouthed a silent question at him. Yifan shook his head slowly, tipped his head to the side, and Chanyeol turned his head, spotted Hakyeon making his way up towards the throne at the head of the room, where another vampire – this one unfamiliar to Chanyeol – was lounging. He greeted Hakyeon with a soft, fond smile, reached out to take his hand, and pulled him down to press a kiss to his mouth. Chanyeol looked away quickly, face scrunching with distaste. Yifan smiled at him, tipped his head again, and Chanyeol risked a glance, letting out a silent sigh of relief when he saw that they had stopped, and that Hakyeon had pulled the other vampire to his feet. “Have you met our guests?” The vampire shook his head, allowed Hakyeon to lead him towards where Chanyeol and Yifan were. “You’ve seen the vampires, I don’t need to introduce you to them. But this is Yifan, and Chanyeol, and you remember the other one, the one that bit poor Sangmin?” The vampire hummed in affirmation, and Hakyeon snickered. “That was Kangin.”

Yifan’s breath caught in his throat, drawing Hakyeon’s gaze to them. “Good morning, dear ones. Forgive me if you’re lonely, I’ve taken precautions and separated you.” Yifan didn’t speak, glared up at Hakyeon in silence. “Oh! Of course. My apologies, this is my child, Takuya. Reigning king of the vampires. All those politics, you know how it is.” Neither of the hunters gaze any indication that they’d heard, and the vampire – Takuya – sniffed delicately. “Hush, my darling. They don’t mean to offend you, they’ve had a hard day.”

Takuya raised an eyebrow. “That’s no excuse. I could still kill them.” He turned on his heel, and made his way back towards the throne. On his way there, another vampire stepped into the room, spotted Takuya, and smiled, before throwing himself into his arms. “Ah, Seyoung.” He used a hand to tip Seyoung’s head back, and pressed a kiss to his lips. “How did you sleep?” Seyoung smiled again, leaned forward to whisper quietly in Takuya’s ear. “Oh, that’s wonderful. That makes me so happy.” Yifan swallowed a laugh, as Takuya kissed Seyoung again, hand sliding down his back.

“Takuya.” He hummed quietly in response, mouth moving to Seyoung’s neck. “Take it upstairs.”

Takuya turned his head, looked over at Hakyeon, grinning. “What if I don’t?” Hakyeon’s mouth creased with displeasure, and Takuya laughed quietly. “I’m kidding. Seyoung, baby, go upstairs. I’ll be there shortly.” Seyoung nodded quickly, and left the room quickly, faster than Yifan’s eyes could follow. Takuya turned to Hakyeon, then, still smiling. “I won’t kill the humans. They don’t look very tasty, anyhow. But I’m sure their friends will disagree, in about a week’s time.”

***

Leeteuk and Luhan had been sitting across from each other, on the floor, in dead silence, for the past two hours. They weren’t looking at each other, kept their eyes trained on the wall opposite them, the tension in the air thicker than anything Leeteuk had ever felt. Luhan was angry, furious, and Leeteuk knew why, but he wasn’t planning on saying anything about it. It wouldn’t help the situation; in fact, it would probably only make Luhan more upset, and Leeteuk didn’t need to deal with that right now. So, he held still, and held his tongue, waiting patiently for Luhan to break the silence.

As it turned out, neither of them needed to. The door slammed open with a noise that made both of them jump about a foot in the air, heads snapping to the side in unison, to find Heechul standing in the doorway, a group of vampires behind him. He stepped inside, and the rest followed. Luhan got to his feet, and took Kyuhyun's wrist in his hand, led the rest of the vampires away without a word, leaving Leeteuk and Heechul alone.

Before Leeteuk really knew what was happening, Heechul had pulled him up against his chest, and pressed his face into Leeteuk’s neck, inhaling deeply. “Thank the gods. When I…when we were told that hunters were being taken, I worried that you…that you have been one of them.” He pressed Leeteuk backwards into the wall, and then kissed him, gentle and sweet. “Is everything alright?”

After a long moment of silence, Leeteuk shook his head. “We need to talk. Alone. Where no one else will overhear us.” Heechul’s eyebrows drew together in confusion, but he nodded, allowed Leeteuk to grab him by the wrist and lead him away.

They stopped when they entered Leeteuk’s bedroom, and he shut the door behind him. He didn’t look at Heechul for a long time, long enough that Heechul started to worry. He put a hand on Leeteuk’s shoulder, but the hunter shrugged it off, stepped away. “When…when Jackson’s child spoke to me, he told me two things. He told me that if the hunters weren’t united, then we would lose so many more than if we were. And he told me that when the war ends, I will have turned.” Heechul gasped quietly, opened his mouth to speak, but Leeteuk cut him off. “Don’t…don’t say anything until I ask you a question.” Heechul nodded. “He told me that there were things I needed to talk to you about, before I determined whether or not you would turn me against my will. I want your honesty. Complete and utter honesty. Don’t lie to me.” Heechul nodded, and Leeteuk swallowed hard. “Before…before Jongin was turned,” He watched Heechul’s face twist with pain, hesitated before he continued. “It was your idea, wasn’t it? To make him a vampire?” After a moment, Heechul nodded slowly. “Even though he didn’t want to?” Another nod, and Leeteuk had to pause, to make sure that he wasn’t going to cry. “He mentioned Ryeowook.”

“Of course, he would.”

Leeteuk paused. “You _know_ him?”

“Jackson is my brother. He told me about what he did, after he did it. He told me who went to who.” Leeteuk let out a quiet, shaky breath. “Youngjae has a…a _knack_ for mentioning things that might cause conflict. He likes to provoke others, and then turns tail when that provocation gets him pulled into a fight.” Leeteuk made a quiet noise in his throat, before Heechul spoke again. “I will explain everything to you, you have my word.”

“Will that be before, or after you turn me?” That seemed to bring Heechul up short, and he didn’t speak, allowed Leeteuk to continue. “I don’t want to wait to learn the truth until after you break your promise. I want to know the truth now. And if you aren’t willing to tell me, then I’m going to walk away from you, right now.” Heechul bit down on his lower lip, and Leeteuk sighed. “I- alright. Fine. That’s your choice.” He held still for a few moments, simply watched Heechul. “I’m going to meet with the other hunters now. Don’t…don’t talk to me. Please.”

***

When Kyungsoo opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the back of Siwon’s head. “Siwon?” He turned, spotted Kyungsoo, face smoothing back into neutrality quickly. “What- what’s going on? Where are we?” Siwon reached out, and pulled Kyungsoo closer to him. “Who else is here?”

“Han Geng, Minseok, Jongdae, Daesung, Youngbae. Us. I think…as far as I can smell, that’s it in terms of vampires.” Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, and Siwon hesitated. “They’ve taken hunters, too. It’s not just us. I know that Jonghyun’s here, and Kangin – I could smell them on the vampire who was keeping watch on us yesterday; I have no doubt that they both put up one hell of a fight.” Kyungsoo winced when he heard a quiet hiss from the corner, started when Youngbae put a gentle hand on his back, soothing. “Ah. Right. Over there in the corner is our _charming_ guard. His name is Wonho, he’s an ass, don’t talk to him.” Another hiss, which Siwon ignored, as he turned towards Minseok, who had crawled over to join them.

“How do you know Jongdae’s here?”

“I could smell him, when we were dragged in here. Why? Is he not-”

“No. I haven’t seen him, I haven’t smelled him.” Minseok paused, a look of sheer dread overtaking his face. “Siwon, you don’t think that Hakyeon-”

“Oh, I absolutely do.” Minseok sat backwards, shot a dirty look at Wonho, before Siwon spoke again. “I just wish I knew what their big plan was. I have _nothing_ to work with, I know nothing about what they’re going to do with us.”

He fell silent as Han Geng crawled over to him, and laid down, head resting on his lap. “’m hungry.” His words reminded Kyungsoo that he was, too, and that wasn’t pleasant.

And then it clicked. He gasped, shot to his feet, and then stumbled, his fall only stopped by Youngbae’s grip on his arms. “Kyungsoo? Are you alright?”

Kyungsoo was very clearly _not_ alright. He was shaking, as he clung to Youngbae, before he spoke. “When was the last time you fed?”

He looked first at Youngbae, who spoke quietly. “I don’t know. Some time ago. I…I was supposed to feed…um, tomorrow, if my internal clock is correct.”

Kyungsoo looked next at Minseok. “Goodness, ages ago. I was going to go with Youngbae to the feeder house. Tomorrow.”

His gaze fell on Daesung. “I…I don’t know.” Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow. “I share Han Geng’s sentiment, if it helps?”

Kyungsoo pressed his lips together in frustration. “Siwon? Han Geng?”

“You know how Han Geng feels, and I’m newborn, like you, what do _you_ think, Kyungsoo?” Kyungsoo whined quietly, slid back to the ground, dragging Youngbae with him. “You know what they’re doing?”

Kyungsoo nodded slowly. “Yeah. Think about it. When vampires don’t have a regular feeding schedule, they go…a little bit nuts. They’ll kill anything with a heartbeat, just to feed. Friends, family, lovers, whoever.” If Siwon had still been human, Kyungsoo was sure he would have paled. “Oh gods.”

Minseok mouthed something, seemed incapable of actually saying the words, so Youngbae spoke for him. “They’re going to starve us, and we’re going to kill our friends, to feed.”


	20. hurricane

Taemin had come up onto the roof to be alone, but when he found Kibum sitting on the edge, legs dangling off over the street, he didn’t hesitate to sit down next to him, quiet, his movements barely a whisper in the still night. He didn’t speak for a long time, didn’t move, waited patiently for Kibum to break the silence. He had been here first, that was his right. Taemin could hear his thoughts, though, whirling about in his head, half-articulated whispers, but the stronger ones, those Taemin could hear in their entirety. He could practically taste the pain and fear and anger that was rolling off of the hunter next to him, but he didn’t comment, simply held still.

Anyone who had had any sort of close relationship with Heechul knew about Kibum and Jonghyun. He didn’t keep them a secret; rather, he liked to talk about them, a lot. It had been mostly revenge plots, for the longest time, but now, now he was starting to act more like their brother. That didn’t fix five hundred years’ worth of pain and suffering, but it didn’t hurt their chances of reconciliation either. Of course, in this state, Kibum didn’t seem like he was ready to _speak_ to anyone again, much less reconcile with them.

He didn’t realize that Kibum was deliberately hurling thoughts at him until he heard one in particular. _Listen to me, you fucking ass_. He smiled, and allowed the others to sink into his mind.

_The first vampire had been kind; soft, sweet, everything that Taemin knew Eunhyuk to be, and despite the fangs, and the bloodlust, he loved Kibum. He had sworn that he would never hurt the hunter – his hunter – and he hadn’t once broken that promise, until Heechul came along. Until Heechul elbowed his way back into Kibum’s life, and ripped that vampire away from him, torn up body after body after body, just to see the vampire lose his mind on Kibum_.

Taemin winced when he felt the first sting of fangs, on his forearm, but he didn’t withdraw from Kibum’s thoughts, as painful as they may have been.

_The second hadn’t lasted as long. It had been a matter of weeks, before they had stumbled upon a body together, and the vamp had turned on Kibum, fangs flashing in the moonlight, stake sliding through his chest with mere seconds to spare_.

That time, the fangs skimmed his throat, and Taemin knew that if they had been real, they would have drawn blood.

_That one had been enough to keep Kibum away from vampires for a long time, but he hadn’t been able to avoid their grip before, and he certainly couldn’t now. But he had been careful; hadn’t been alone, had taken care not to go near blood with him. It had worked, for a long time, but then…well, then Jonghyun had come along, reeking of blood and bleeding heavily, and the vampire had snapped_.

Taemin gasped, hand clamping down on Kibum’s forearm. He could literally feel fangs ripping through his throat, his shoulder, his hand, and he bit down a scream, as Kibum stroked gently at the back of his hand. “Shh, it’s okay, it’s not real. If you don’t want to see, you can pull away at any time.” Taemin shook his head quickly, shoulders rigid with the strain to keep himself locked into Kibum’s head. “Taemin, you don’t need to watch this. I don’t want to hurt you, this really isn’t necessary-” Taemin hissed at him quietly, bared his fangs, and Kibum relented. “Fine. But you can’t say that I didn’t warn you.”

_The fourth had helped Kibum find a nest of vampires that had been giving the hunters trouble. And from there, they had ended up falling into bed together, time and time again, and the vampire had learned everything there was to know about Kibum’s past. It had made him angry, to learn what Heechul had done, and he had gone after him, without Kibum’s knowledge. When Kibum finally caught up to him, Heechul had quite literally been starving him, before he let him loose with Kibum in the room_.

Taemin ripped his mind out of Kibum’s before that scene could finish playing itself out. He scrambled backwards a few feet, panting, and Kibum shot him a look, a look that said _I told you so_. Taemin glared at him for a few seconds, before he started to cry. Kibum looked around quickly, whipped out his phone, and dialed Minho’s number. But the hunter didn’t pick up, and so Kibum pocketed his phone, put a hand on Taemin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.” Taemin shrugged out from under his hand, and pulled further away. “You didn’t have to keep watching.” Taemin growled quietly, fangs bared. “But now you know, I suppose.”

“Know _what_ Kibum? Know that you were hurt? Everyone knows that. Know that you and Heechul haven’t ever been on good terms? We literally all know that, too. Know that you hate vampires? Anyone who spends any amount of time with you knows that. Know that you love Youngbae, and want him back, and are literally praying that he doesn’t get hurt? Now that, Kibum, that is something that most people don’t know, something that you’d like to keep private.” Kibum didn’t speak for a long moment, and Taemin took advantage of his silence. “I won’t tell anyone. But I’ll bet you five dollars that you’ll kiss him when we get him back alive and unharmed.”

“Shut your mouth, Taemin, you insufferable brat of a vampire.” Taemin stuck out his tongue, like a petulant child, but didn’t say anything. “You owe me a secret.” Taemin shrugged, and Kibum narrowed his eyes. “You know mine. Now talk.”

Taemin sighed quietly, ran a hand through his hair. “What do you want to know?”

“Are you and Minho doing alright?”

“That’s none of your business.” Kibum raised an eyebrow, and after a few seconds of stubborn silence, Taemin spoke. “We’re fine, everything’s-” He cut off when Kibum’s phone rang. “Is that- is it him?” Kibum nodded slowly, the question in his eyes obvious. “Answer it.”

“Minho?” A pause. “Oh, yeah. Yes, he’s here with me. He’s alright, he’s fine.” Taemin could hear him, but he wasn’t listening, didn’t much care to know what he had to say. “I don’t…no. I don’t think that he wants to speak to you.” Taemin shook his head quickly, backed away. “I- Minho, if you want to speak to him, call him yourself. I’m not going to be your messenger. You two need to figure out your problems on your own, I won’t do it for you. You understand?” It took a few moments before Kibum was given the opportunity to speak again. “No, Minho, I won’t. I won’t do that for you. We’re friends, but you’re his boyfriend. Or…or whatever it is. I don’t know.” Without another word, he hung up, and looked at Taemin again. “I’m sorry. You should…I don’t know. I probably have to be getting back to the hunters. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”

As Kibum made his way back into the building, he could hear Taemin following behind him, not as quiet as he’s like to believe. They made their way into Luhan’s office, where they found Leeteuk and Zitao standing together, locked in what seemed to be a very intense discussion. They both looked up when Kibum entered, and stopped speaking as soon as they spotted Taemin. Kibum didn’t say anything to them, as he circled around to behind Luhan’s desk, and knelt beside one of the drawers. He pulled one open, and started rifling through papers, as Taemin watched. Leeteuk cleared his throat once, and then excused himself quietly, left the room. Zitao put a hand on Taemin’s shoulder. “Are you alright?” Kibum could feel him shaking his head. “Taemin, what happened?”

Taemin made a quiet noise in his throat. “I…” He paused, looked quickly at Kibum, before he spoke again. “Kibum let me, um, let me see. His past.” Zitao nodded slowly, and then pulled Taemin into a hug. “I- I’m sorry. I, it was painful. And I couldn’t help thinking about, about Minho when I was watching, and I just…I don’t ever want to hurt him.”

“Shh, hush, sweetheart, it’s alright.” Taemin was sobbing, when Kibum rose to a standing position, a thin file in his hand. “You should know, sweetheart, that I spoke to Minho. Has he spoken to you?” Taemin shook his head. “Damn it. Please ask him. Please ask what he said to me. I think you need to know.” Taemin whined softly, as he pulled away from Zitao. “Go on. Go talk to him. Call me, if you need me.” Taemin nodded quickly, and then turned on his heel, and stepped out of the room. Zitao turned on Kibum quickly. “Why did you show him?”

“He wanted to know. I gave him the option to pull away. He didn’t have to be in my head. That was his choice. And of course, I’m the one who decided to give him those memories, I’m not blameless in this. And I think, somehow, that he needed to see it. It made him realize just how much he loves Minho.”

“That doesn’t mean that you have to make him cry, Kibum.” Kibum nodded slowly, ran a hand through his hair, before Zitao spoke again. “How are you? I only ask because I know that you and Youngbae-”

“And this conversation is over.” Kibum started towards the door, but Zitao grabbed his arm. He sighed quietly, and then spoke. “You’ve seen everything. You know exactly why I don’t trust him. You know exactly why I _can’t_ be with him.”

“I know why you don’t think you can be with him.” Kibum pressed his lips together in a thin line, but didn’t argue with him. “I know that you’re scared. I know that you don’t want to get hurt again. I know that it would kill you to get hurt again. I know that if you were to end up in a situation where you had to kill your lover again, you would literally kill yourself.” Kibum sniffed delicately, and then Zitao spoke again. “Stop _lying_ to yourself.” Kibum yanked out of his grip, and left the room quickly, leaving Zitao alone.

***

Yifan sniffed quietly when he heard Takuya enter the room, followed by several others. He didn’t turn to look at him, kept his gaze locked on the floor. “Seyoung, Sangmin, keep an eye on the kids downstairs. I’m not worried about anyone up here, the hunters can’t do anything about their captivity. Yongseok, you’ll need to stay here for Hakyeon’s arrival. Don’t forget, the babies are coming with him.”

One of the vampires – Yifan guessed it was Yongseok, he seemed the type – made a soft noise of disgust in his throat. “Seriously? Why is he bringing them, they’re useless.”

Takuya hummed quietly as he crossed the room, and they passed by the spot where Yifan and Chanyeol were trapped. “I don’t disagree with you, but don’t say that to them, or to Hakyeon. He’ll kill you if he hears it, and if he doesn’t, and they do, they’ll tell him, and he’ll kill you anyways. So, please, my love, please don’t say anything stupid. Keep your sassy little mouth under control while he’s here. If you can do that, I might reward you when I get back.”

Yongseok sighed quietly. “Alright. I’ll…I guess I can try. I’ll do my best.” Yifan heard him leave, and then heard Seyoung speak quietly.

“Can Wonho come downstairs with me instead of Sangmin?” Takuya sighed softly, and Yifan looked up in time to see him nod. “Thank you. C’mon, Wonho. Let’s go.” He reached out to grab Wonho’s hand, and pull him out of the room.

Sangmin turned towards Takuya, and spoke quietly. “He doesn’t want me to get hurt again. He’s pissed that the stupid vampire bit me.” Sangmin was pouting, as he pressed into Takuya’s side, laid his head on his shoulder. “Is Casper upstairs, or did he go hunt?” Takuya shrugged, as Sangmin slid a hand underneath his shirt. “Can we go hunt when you get home?”

Takuya smiled. “You’re coming with me, actually. I was going to take Wonho, but now that he’s with Seyoung, you get to come with instead.” Sangmin smiled widely, pressed his mouth against Takuya’s cheek, tugging gently at his shirt. “Ah, ah, no, none of that. We need to get going soon, I can’t have you distracting me like this.” Sangmin pouted, hand falling to Takuya’s belt. “Mm, you want to stay home, do you?” Sangmin paused, shook his head quickly. “Then stop. I highly doubt that Yifan wants to see this. But maybe, darling, if you’re good for me, then I’ll let you, tonight.”

“Alright.”

“Go wait for me outside. I’ll be along in a moment.” Sangmin nodded, and then left the room, leaving Takuya alone with Yifan and Chanyeol. “I do hope that the two of you don’t have any elaborate plans for escape. That would be most unfortunate for your pretty skin.” Yifan glared up at him, but didn’t speak. “Stubborn hunter. I’ve met your type before.” Chanyeol made a quiet noise of surprise. “You’ve met Seyoung. He was a hunter, just like you. And he was so very stubborn. But now, as you’ve noticed, he’s such a sweetheart.”

“What are you suggesting?”

Takuya smiled, fangs flashing in the light. “Nothing. Nothing at all, darling. Don’t you worry your pretty little head.” He walked past them, towards the doors, and pushed them open. “Hakyeon will be here in a few hours. Until then, do try to mind your manners.” Without another word, he stepped out of the doors, leaving the two hunters alone.

***

“You did _what_?”

Jackson looked down at the floor, toes curling into the carpet, fingers twisting in his shirt. Hakyeon was standing opposite him, and he knew that if he were to make eye contact, he would literally die from the look in his eyes. He didn’t speak, held his tongue as Hakyeon paced away from him. Mark and BamBam were curled together on the chair in the room, gazing at Hakyeon with nothing but fear in their eyes. They were terrified, he knew, for him.

“Are you telling me that you not only spoke to a sorceress that I warned you never to speak to again, you saw a vision of hers, and then you showed the kids, and _then_ you warned the _hunters_? You stupid, _stupid_ vampire, how fucking _dare_ you, I have given you everything, how dare you just turn around and betray me?” Jackson didn’t speak, and Hakyeon took that as a sign to continue. “I should kill you. I should kill you, for doing this. No one betrays me and gets away with it, not Heechul, not Taekwoon, and certainly not you.”

Jackson opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, BamBam whined softly. Hakyeon’s head snapped to the side, and his face smoothed back to neutrality almost instantly. “We will continue this discussion later. When the kids aren’t around.” Jackson nodded, and then Mark got to his feet, came slowly towards them to press against Jackson’s side. BamBam followed, but hesitated, didn’t touch them, until Hakyeon reached out to take his hand, and pull him forward. “How are you, little one?”

BamBam shrugged. “I’m okay. I, um, I met Jongin.” Hakyeon closed his eyes, frustrated, as he pressed his mouth to BamBam’s forehead. “He, ah, he said that he thinks you’re good at, ah, helping newborns. And he told me that I have to remember to feed.” Hakyeon nodded slowly, and then looked at Jackson, who looked away quickly.

“Look at me, Jackson.” Jackson obeyed, biting down on his lower lip. “We will talk, later.” Jackson nodded, and then Hakyeon turned on his heel, walked away from the three of them. “I’m going to go meet with your brother. I’ll come back when I’m ready to speak to you.” Without another word, he stepped out of the room, leaving them alone.

Mark pulled away quickly. “Don’t be mad at yourself, I’m glad we went, you know we helped them, please, don’t be mad at yourself.” Jackson looked away from him, and BamBam whined softly. “I’m going to go, now.”

As Mark left the room, BamBam tugged at Jackson’s sleeve. “We knew he’d be angry, when he found out. We did it anyways. I think you know that that means that we’d do it again in a heartbeat. Please, Jackson, don’t be angry at yourself. You just wanted to protect them. They’re people, too. They’re Heechul’s friends.”

“I know, BamBam.” Jackson sat down, a quiet sigh leaving his lips. “I don’t want you kids to get hurt because of my mistake.”

***

“Can you feel him?” Minseok was leaning against the wall, gazing into the darkness, as Youngbae spoke to him, voice quiet and terrified. “Minseok, _please_. If he’s not alright-”

“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little heads over him. He’s fine. Hakyeon wouldn’t hurt him.” Minseok was on his feet in seconds, hands wrapped around the bars caging them, growling at their vampire guards.

“I think you’ll find there’s very _little_ Hakyeon wouldn’t do to my brother.” He fell silent for a moment, before he spoke again. “And if I find out that he has been harmed, if I find out that Hakyeon has hurt him again, I will kill each and every one of you with my bare hands. No one hurts my siblings and gets away with it.”

“You know, Minseok, you talk a big game. But here’s the thing. You don’t have any way out of that cage. You haven’t fed in _ages_. You’re weak. You can’t fight us. So, you can make as many threats as you want, but be very aware that you’re not capable of following through with any of them, not right now, and not in the foreseeable future.” Wonho was smiling at them, fangs out. “Jongdae’s fine, if a little…mm, shaken up. I spoke to him yesterday.” He was gloating, now, and Minseok sighed, slid back to the floor. “He knows you’re here. He knows all of you are here. He’s worried.” Seyoung snickered quietly, hiding his grin behind his hand. “Oh, hush, Seyoung. I think it’s rather sweet.”

Seyoung laughed out loud. “It’s dumb. He’s dumb. And weak. Hongbin could kill Jongdae, if he wanted, and he’s just a _baby_.” Wonho rolled his eyes, and Youngbae sniffed rather delicately. “I miss Takuya. When do we get to go hunt?”

Wonho sighed. “We’ve been over this. After Hakyeon gets here, and we switch with Casper and Yongseok.” Seyoung pouted, sat down on the floor again, gazing at the vampires in the cage. “Aw, Siwon, sweetie, are you hungry?” That got Siwon’s attention immediately, and he sat up quickly. Han Geng made a quiet noise of distaste, as the movement shuffled him out of Siwon’s grasp. Kyungsoo wasn’t far behind, at the mention of _hungry_ , and when he realized what was happening, he glared at Wonho. “Mm, not long now, Seyoung. Not for the babies, anyway.”


	21. blaze

None of them were expecting it when BamBam showed up at Luhan’s office, Leeteuk and Jongin on either side of him. Jongin had a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he led BamBam in without a word to any of the others in the room. Luhan didn’t speak, his eyes following their movements. Jongin sat down on the couch, and then pulled BamBam down, so he could sit on Jongin’s thigh. Leeteuk raised an eyebrow, as he moved to stand about as far away from Heechul as he could. Heechul frowned, looked down at the ground. Joonmyun was standing beside him, arms crossed over his chest. Seunghyun was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, a little dent of frustration in between his eyebrows.

“Where’s Seokjin?”

Heechul glanced at his phone. “He’s almost here. He’s bringing Namjoon and…and all of them.” Luhan sighed quietly, ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll go get them.”

“Thank you.” Heechul nodded, and slipped out of the room. A couple of minutes later, he had returned, Seokjin and the others in tow. He returned to his spot beside Joonmyun, as the others filtered into the room. Jungkook was the last person in, and he pushed the door shut behind him, before coming to stand behind Jongin and BamBam. BamBam whined, and Jongin hushed him quietly, stroked a gently hand over his back. “Now that we’re all here, we can get started.”

Seokjin spoke before Luhan had to opportunity. “We can’t all go.”

“I’m aware.” Luhan shot him a look, and Seokjin smiled fondly back at him. “Jongin, would you care to explain why-”

BamBam spoke before Jongin could. “I ran. I…Hakyeon found out that Jackson sent us to you guys, and he’s furious about it. He, um, he was going through and compelling all of the others, and so I ran. I don’t want to help him. He’s, he’s not nice. He’s very mean, and he wants to kill you guys, but I don’t want you to die.” He pressed his face against Jongin’s neck. “I don’t want any of you to die. I don’t want _anyone_ to die.” Jongin hushed him quietly, put an arm around BamBam’s waist.

“He’s compelling them?” Seokjin leaned forward, very interested in that. “He’s going to force them to fight for him?” BamBam nodded quickly. “That’s going to backfire. I’ve tried it before, and it doesn’t work.” Luhan sniffed delicately, and Seokjin smiled at him again. “We know who’s been taken.” Luhan nodded quickly. “There’s nothing that connects the hunters, but we know that they took all three of the newborns. I’m going to assume that Hakyeon’s not feeding them, which, after some discussion with Namjoon and Yoongi, has brought us to the conclusion that he’s going to starve them and send them after the hunters.” That pulled a panicked noise out of Joonmyun’s mouth, and Heechul put a gentle arm around his shoulders. “I know. I know. We have to stop him before he can do that. That’s why we need to move fast. The newborns don’t have much time. And, after speaking to Heechul and some of the mates of the taken vampires, we’ve realized that they don’t have much time either.” Jongin whimpered softly.

“What would you recommend we do?”

Seokjin ran a hand through his hair, sighed quietly. “I don’t know. We know that he’ll have all of BamBam’s family, he’ll have whoever’s left of Jaehwan’s family, and, unfortunately, he’s got Takuya. If he’s compelling Jackson’s kids, there’s nothing we can do to stop them. Obviously there’s no way that we’ll be able to stop Takuya and his kids; they’re bloodthirsty and ruthless and they will do anything that Hakyeon tells them to. We might be able to get through to Jaehwan, maybe.” Luhan put his head in his hands, frustrated, and then Seunghyun got to his feet.

“Anyone whose mate is in that snake nest wants to go, I can almost guarantee it.” Seokjin nodded. “I’m going. I think all of the senior hunters said they’d go. And I’ve spoken to most of the vampires.”

Heechul released Joonmyun, and stepped forward. “I’m going. Joonmyun, obviously, and also Sehun, Taemin, Jongin, Ryeowook, Kyuhyun, Donghae, and Jinki.” He looked at Luhan, who looked away quickly. “Last I heard from Luhan, it was the remaining senior hunters – so Seunghyun, Zitao, Leeteuk, Minho, and Seungri – as well as Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Kibum. Luhan, are you-” Luhan nodded once, and Heechul looked away quickly.

“No Yixing?”

Seokjin shook his head. “No. He says he can’t stomach the idea of seeing Jongdae under Hakyeon’s control. And I completely agree. Of course, it’s going to be difficult for any of us, but Jongdae…he’s been hurt so much by Hakyeon, he’s so susceptible to Hakyeon’s compulsion. And I completely understand that Yixing doesn’t want to see him like that.”

“You think that that’s what he’s doing with Jongdae?”

“I have no doubt.” Heechul sighed softly, and Joonmyun put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You’re sure that your brothers will be safe from his compulsion?”

“Absolutely.” Seokjin nodded once, and then looked at Luhan again, as Heechul continued. “We don’t know where they are. Kibum has tried to trace any of the stolen vampires or hunters, but he can’t find any of them. And he’s tried to trace Hakyeon or Jackson or Jaehwan, but he’s got nothing.” Luhan sighed quietly, head hitting the desk. “He’s working on it. He’ll find someone. He always does, he’s good at this. No one better.” Luhan looked ready to say something, but before he could, the door opened, and Kibum stepped inside. He exchanged a glance with Heechul, before he looked at Luhan, and spoke.

“I found them.” Luhan was on his feet in a second, and so was Jongin, accidentally pushing BamBam to the floor. “I couldn’t get their location nailed down exactly, but I, um, I managed to get a trace on Jonghyun, for once in my damn life, for a few seconds, before I got thrown off.” Heechul nodded slowly. “They’re at…gods, I don’t even want to say it, but they’re at Takuya’s.” Seokjin sighed quietly, and BamBam whimpered, grabbed onto Jongin’s arm.

Seokjin put a hand on Heechul’s wrist, and leaned over to whisper in his ear. Leeteuk caught sight of that, but he couldn’t hear what Seokjin said. He frowned, but didn’t say anything, as Seokjin slipped out of the room. Leeteuk looked quickly at Luhan, who had moved to speak to Seunghyun in the past few moments. Leeteuk came towards them, without saying a word, even when he heard Joonmyun say something about him to Heechul.

“We’ll split them into two groups. Seokjin will go with one group, Heechul will go with the other. I’ll try to split the hunters evenly, and yes, Leeteuk, you don’t have to ask. I know.” Leeteuk nodded once, and Luhan spoke again. “Alright. I’ll summon the other hunters in, mm, about an hour. We’ll go tonight. Sooner rather than later, right?” Seunghyun nodded slowly. “Go say your goodbyes to Jiyong. Meet me here in an hour.” Seunghyun nodded again, and then left the room. Luhan turned to Leeteuk, smiling rather fondly at him. “You’re alright?” Leeteuk shook his head slowly, and Luhan nodded. “Yeah, I know. I mean, obviously, I don’t really _know_ , I won’t pretend to know your situation, but I can try.” Leeteuk smiled at him, glanced over Luhan’s head at Heechul and Kibum and Joonmyun, who were still speaking quietly. “Go. If there’s something you need to do before this fight, do it now.”

Leeteuk nodded, and then followed Seunghyun out of the room, leaving Luhan on his own. He turned to Jongin, who was standing with BamBam, pointedly ignoring Jungkook. Namjoon had come towards him, the other hunters – hunters that Luhan didn’t know, not yet – following behind him. “Luhan.” He raised his chin in acknowledgement, and Namjoon spoke again, voice soft. “These are my…my friends. This is Jimin, and Taehyung, and Hoseok. Jungkook and Yoongi will be staying out of this fight, but the rest of us would like to help. If you’ll have us, of course.” Luhan nodded once, and Namjoon smiled. “I also wanted to apologize. For what I did to Taekwoon, and to Kyungsoo. I won’t try to make excuses for it, I just want you to know that I am so very sorry, and I will do everything in my power to fix it.” Luhan nodded again, and then Namjoon reached out to motion Jungkook forward. “You four, go home. I need to speak to Jongin, but I’ll be back as soon as I can, alright?” Jungkook nodded, and he left the room, the other hunters following behind him.

Jongin didn’t budge from BamBam’s side, glaring at Namjoon. “Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it in here. I’m not going anywhere _alone_ with you.” Luhan realized that Heechul had turned to watch the exchange, eyes full of worry as he gazed at Jongin.

“Look, I know you’re angry at me. You have every right to be. I was awful to you, back then, and just recently, with Kyungsoo. I wanted to apologize for that. But more importantly, I wanted to promise you – swear to you, on my stake, if that’s what it takes – that I will help you get him back, alive.” Jongin swallowed hard, looked away. “Whatever it takes. I will give my own life, if it means that you and Kyungsoo are reunited. I owe you that much.”

Jongin looked up quickly, eyes wide. “I…you…” He looked at Luhan, then Heechul, panic in his eyes. “I don’t want anyone to die. Unless it’s Hakyeon.” He tacked that rather quickly on the end, before speaking again. “I’ll kill him myself, for what he did to Jongdae.”

***

“You’ve heard?”

Zitao looked up when he heard Sehun speak, and he turned on his heel, leaned back against the window. “I have.” Sehun came forward, and boxed Zitao against the wall, pressed his face into his shoulder. “No decision’s been made yet. They’re both still running through the trials. Lisa’s worried. Well, mm, concerned. She doesn’t think she’ll make it, and she, ah, she’s very concerned about what’s going to happen if she doesn’t.” Sehun hummed quietly, nibbled gently at Zitao’s shoulder. “We don’t have time.” Sehun nodded, as he pulled backwards. “We’ll make it through this. Both of us. We’ll make it through this, alive, and then, sweetheart, I’ll let you turn me.” Sehun nodded again, and then kissed Zitao gently. “We have to go.”

Sehun didn’t say a word, as he kissed Zitao once more, twice, a third time. “No, Sehun, we can’t. Not right now. We have to leave.” Gently, he pushed Sehun away, then walked towards his bed, to grab his stake. When he glanced over his shoulder, he found that Sehun hadn’t moved an inch. “You have my word, I will survive this.” Sehun looked doubtful. “I swear it.” They both noticed the absence of last few words that usually make their way into a hunter’s promise. That solidified it, then, the fact that they both doubted that he would. But neither of them commented on it, as Zitao touched a gentle hand to Sehun’s face, and then left the room.

Sehun followed minutes later, and found Taemin and Kyuhyun waiting for him. Taemin shot him a concerned look, but seemed to have the sense not to ask the obvious question. Kyuhyun, it seemed, did not. “Are you alright?”

Sehun hit him, his knuckles connecting with Kyuhyun’s cheekbone. Kyuhyun stumbled backwards, hit the wall hard, but he didn’t say a word, as he straightened, and rejoined them. “Do I _look_ alright to you?” Kyuhyun shook his head, wisely choosing to remain silent. “Then don’t ask stupid questions.” Kyuhyun nodded quickly, as Sehun led them down the stairs, and out the front door. It was remarkably warm outside, Sehun was able to take note of that, through his fury.

They were quick to make their way to the place where Seokjin had decided they’d meet the hunters. Taehyung was already there, Jimin and Hoseok on either side, but the others were nowhere to be seen. But before long, Seokjin had emerged from the forest, Leeteuk at his side, Chanyeol and Baekhyun behind them. From their other side, Jinki was coming towards them, Seungri trailing behind him. When they had all gathered, Seokjin cleared his throat to address them.

“I realize that this is difficult for many of you.” He exchanged a look with Taemin and Sehun, both of whom looked away quickly. “I understand that your friends, your family, are at stake in this fight.” Sehun looked quickly at Leeteuk, and that was when he realized that the hunter had been crying. “The end of this battle will determine the rest of our lives. If we win, the hunters are safe to carry on their lives as they please, and, for the most part, things will go back to normal. As normal as they can be, for us.” Baekhyun’s mouth twitched with a smile, before it smoothed back into neutrality. “I will promise you now that I will do everything in my power to stop Takuya, to save all of them. Given the opportunity, I will kill Hakyeon. I’ve spoken to almost all of Hakyeon’s children about it. But do not hesitate to end them. If they stand against us, they will die. If they stand with Takuya and Hakyeon, they must die. I will not allow them to continue. It has gone on for far too long. I should have stopped him years ago.” Leeteuk opened his mouth to say something, but Seokjin waved him off. “There’s nothing I can do about now, except stop him before he can continue.” Without another word, he turned on his heel, and walked away. They followed quickly after him, silent.

Taemin caught up to Sehun quickly, and touched a hand to his elbow. “What happened?” Sehun didn’t speak, and Taemin made a quiet noise. “Sehun, please. Please tell me.” He tugged gently on Sehun’s sleeve, lower lip pushing out in a pout when Sehun shook his head. “You and Zitao?” After a moment, Sehun nodded. “You’re worried that he won’t come back alive?” Sehun didn’t say a word, and Taemin seemed to take that as a yes. He wasn’t wrong. “Don’t worry. Luhan and Minho will keep him safe.”

Sehun pulled out of Taemin’s grip, but didn’t shoo him away. After a few moments of silence, he spoke quietly. “It’s really not your business, is it?” Taemin whined softly, and Sehun shushed him. “Thank you, Taemin.” After a few seconds, Taemin smiled, ducked his head. “Are you alright?” Taemin looked up quickly in surprise. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

As they made their way through the city, Sehun did his best to ignore what he could hear in Taemin’s mind. He made his way over to Seokjin, didn’t speak as he walked at his shoulder, lips pressed together. Seokjin hummed softly, wrapped his fingers around Sehun’s wrist, pulled him forward just enough that they could walk side by side. “Don’t worry. He’s capable. He’s one of the most competent hunters I’ve ever encountered.” Sehun nodded, leaned his head against Seokjin’s shoulder. “But it’s not just him that you’re worried about.” Sehun shrugged, and Seokjin made a quiet noise in thought. “Sehun.”

“I’m fine.” Sehun straightened, but didn’t move away. “Everything’s fine.”

***

Kibum put a hand on Heechul’s arm as they left the building, but they didn’t stop moving as they led the group of hunters and vampires into the city. Heechul tried to pull away from him, but Kibum merely tightened his grip, keeping pace with him easily. “Let me go, Kibum.”

“Be glad I’m giving you the option to talk, instead of just grabbing your wrist, and forcing my way in.” Heechul huffed quietly, and Kibum loosened him grip marginally, before speaking again. “Did you tell Leeteuk about what I saw?” Heechul shook his head, and Kibum let out a quiet, frustrated noise. “May I ask _why_?”

“You may. That doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you.” Kibum growled at him, and Heechul sighed. “We aren’t speaking, because Youngjae told him about what Jackson’s sorceress friend saw. And because I refused to explain what I did to him. It was…we fought, I think. It didn’t end well. So, no, I didn’t tell him. He doesn’t want to speak to me. There’s a reason Luhan split us up.” Kibum released him completely, eyes wide. “Don’t look at me like that. I feel bad enough as it is.” Without another word, he sped up, leaving Kibum behind.

Kibum looked up when Jongin touched his shoulder, and then fell into line beside him, hand curling around his wrist. Kibum exhaled, nostrils flaring as he allowed Jongin’s thoughts to flood into his mind, trying to keep enough focus to walk in a straight line.

_He knew that Jongdae had been Hakyeon’s treasure, but it would seem that Takuya had surpassed that. He was terrifying, horrifically so; even at his most furious, Heechul was nowhere near as scary as Takuya. When Takuya had first arrived, his glinting smile had landed on Jongin first, and he had gotten the impression that Takuya could smell his fear. Jongin’s grip on Heechul had tightened, and the elder had put a gentle hand on his waist, hushing him quietly. On Heechul’s other side, Ryeowook had put an arm around Joonmyun’s shoulder, before leading him and Jongdae out of the room, ignoring the teasing little glance that Takuya shot them._

_Carefully, Heechul had led Jongin over to Takuya, nodding a greeting at him. Jongin looked quickly between the two, a worried look twisting his face for a few seconds before he settled back into neutrality. “As rude as ever, brother darling.” Heechul didn’t say a word, as Takuya’s gaze found Jongin. “I take it this is the baby you talked about, then.” Jongin sniffed delicately. “Oh, he’s darling. I can see why you like him.” Jongin’s nostrils flared, and as he tried to hide behind Heechul’s shoulder, Heechul growled quietly at Takuya, fangs bared. “Hush. Don’t be_ possessive _, Heechul, I doubt he wants to belong to you anyway.”_

_That seemed to bring Heechul up short, and he didn’t say a word. Hakyeon looked once at Heechul, and then at Takuya again, before sliding his arm around Takuya’s waist gently. “You don’t need to go starting fights with your brother.” It was the gentlest, yet most furious that Jongin had ever heard Hakyeon. “Be nice to Jongin. And don’t call him a baby. He’s not like your child.” Takuya didn’t look at all cowed, as he smirked at Jongin. “Come upstairs, darling. Heechul, if you would, love-”_.

_“I need to go check on the others.” He murmured the words softly, and Hakyeon nodded once. “Jongin, will you stay here and wait for Seokjin to arrive?” Jongin looked at him for a long moment, before he nodded slowly, a soft smile on his lips. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind taking you hunting, if you asked nicely.” That seemed to catch Jongin’s attention, and his smile widened. Heechul gave him a fond look, and then left the room, Hakyeon and Takuya close on his heels._

_Jongin jumped about a foot in the air when he felt gentle hands on his body, a mouth on his shoulder. “Good evening, sweet boy.” Jongin shuddered, whined softly when one of the hands moved to stroke his neck. “Mm, are you getting hungry? You need to feed?” Jongin nodded quickly, before Seokjin spoke again. “Alright. After I’m finished with Hakyeon, I’ll come find you and we’ll go hunt.”_

_“I’ll be waiting.”_.

Kibum turned to look at Jongin for a moment, before looking down at the road. “I met him once. Takuya.” He paused, looked up at Heechul for a second, before Jongin spoke.

“What did you think?’

“He was a vampire. I hated him.” Jongin nodded slowly, before Kibum continued. “But he was charming, so much more so than I anticipated. He knows how to…to read people, and how to, ah, become what they want him to be. I think that’s why he and Hakyeon get on so well. They like to play with people. It’s a game, to them, to see how riled up they can make someone.” Jongin nodded, as Ryeowook and Joonmyun both came to walk behind them. “Do you disagree with that assessment?”

“Of course not.” Ryeowook seemed rather offended that Kibum would imply something like that. “But there’s something you’re not saying about your interaction with him.” Without another word, Ryeowook pushed past them, to join Heechul.

_Jongin couldn’t get Takuya off of his mind, even when he was wrapped around Seokjin’s body, face pressed into his neck, fangs buried into his skin. Seokjin could hear the thoughts bouncing around in his head, and he ran a gentle hand down his back. “You don’t need to worry about him. He won’t hurt you. He’s not stupid.” He pressed a gentle kiss to Jongin’s forehead, before he pulled away. “I have to go. Hakyeon’s getting impatient.” Jongin whined, as he reached out to grab Seokjin, and kiss him again. “Be good for me. I’ll come see you tonight, if I can get away.” Jongin hummed softly, as he laid back onto the bed, curling himself into the blankets. “I’ll see you tonight.” Without another word, he left the room._

_It took mere minutes for the door to open again, and then Jongin smelled who it was, he sat up straight, fangs sliding free in fear. “What are you-”_

_“Hush.” Takuya silenced him with that one word as he crossed the room, and came to stand in front of Jongin. “You’re awfully ungrateful, you know, given everything that Hakyeon’s done for you.” Jongin growled, baring his fangs when Takuya grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him forward. “I don’t think I like you. At all.”_

_“Well, fortunately, you don’t have to.” Jongin rose up to his knees, still growling quietly, their noses only an inch apart. “You’re so spoiled.”_

_Takuya slapped him, and Jongin’s head snapped to the side. Within seconds, he had lunged at Takuya, and tackled him to the floor. Takuya laughed quietly, and effortlessly pushed Jongin backwards. He hissed, and hit the dresser hard, pushed himself into a kneeling position. “_ I’m _spoiled? You’re the stupid newborn who’s never worked a damn day in his vampire life. Heechul and his brothers are_ spoiling _you, and you’re as ungrateful as it gets.” Jongin lunged forward again, and this time, Takuya grabbed him by his forearms, pulled him up against his body. “Why in the hell did they turn you? You don’t deserve it.”_

_Jongin shoved at his chest, but Takuya was stronger than him, and he had Jongin very effectively trapped. “Let me_ go _.”_

_”Oh, absolutely not.”_

_“Takuya.” He laughed quietly, still not releasing Jongin, even when Hakyeon knelt behind him, put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you playing nice?” Takuya was still laughing, and didn’t stop, not even when Hakyeon pulled him off of Jongin. “You’re scaring the baby, Takuya.” Takuya giggled, pouting as he looked at Hakyeon. “I’ve heard that actually talking to people is a really good way to get them to like you. Have you considered that?”_

_“Oh, but where’s the fun in that?” Hakyeon sighed quietly, and Takuya turned to Jongin. “Besides, you like me, don’t you? I’m plenty_ likable _, aren’t I, Jongin?” Jongin looked at Hakyeon quickly, whining softly. “Oh, don’t be like that. I’m sorry if I offended you, but honestly, if you can take a dick – and we all know that you can, no one was spared the soundtrack from last night – you can take a joke.”_

_Hakyeon growled, right in Takuya’s ear, and that was enough to finally cow Takuya. “Play nice, Takuya. You said it yourself, he’s just a newborn. You’re not being fair to him.” Takuya stuck out his tongue, and Hakyeon growled again. “Heechul was nice to you, when you were a newborn. Now be kind.”_

_”But he called me spoiled!”_

_Hakyeon rolled his eyes. “Well, he’s not wrong.” Takuya gasped, but before he could say a word, Hakyeon had spoken again. “Oh, go find something productive to do. Leave Jongin alone.”_

Kibum put an arm around Jongin’s shoulders, hummed quietly when he felt the vampire trembling. “It’s alright. We won’t let him hurt you. You don’t have to show me anymore if you don’t want to.” Jongin shook his head, reached to take Kibum’s hand once more. “Jongin, if you don’t want to show me-”

_When Jongin woke, he was cold. And cold for a vampire was a strange thing, because they didn’t feel physical temperature. Cold, for a vampire, was all in their head, and the fact that someone was screwing around with his head_ terrified _Jongin. He stretched, biting back a whine when the movement caused the blankets to slide down his waist. He rolled onto his back, and that was when he realized that he wasn’t alone, that Takuya was beside him, one hand on his stomach, the other wrapped around Jongin’s wrist. “Good evening, sweetheart.” Jongin glared at him for a second. “Oh, don’t give me that look. Don’t act like you weren’t begging for my cock last night.”_

_“Get out of my head, Takuya.” Jongin didn’t wait for a response, before pushing up into a seated position, and pulling out of Takuya’s grip. “I’d quite like to return to my regular temperature, please.” Takuya snickered, followed Jongin as he moved to the edge of the bed, blankets still wrapped around his waist. “Get_ out _of my head.” He turned to look at Takuya, fangs bared, but the second they made eye contact, Takuya grabbed him by his jaw, and pulled him forward._

_“You hungry, sweetheart? Because you sure as hell weren’t this bitter earlier.” Jongin snarled at him, eyes flashing red for a second before fading to normal. “Right, note to self, don’t bite the baby no matter how much he begs.” Jongin reached up to dig his fingernails into Takuya’s jaw, still snarling in his throat. “Feed on me.” After a moment, Jongin nodded, leaned forward as Takuya’s grip loosened, and bit down on his throat. “Ugh, newborns, always so much_ drama.”

_When Jongin pulled back, Takuya had not only released his jaw, but also released his mind, and the cold was slowly starting to fade. “Can I kiss you?” Takuya nodded once, and Jongin leaned forward to press a kiss to his mouth, gentle. Takuya ruined that gentleness by biting down on his lower lip, but his fangs hadn’t slid free yet, so he didn’t draw blood. “Mm, yeah, no.” He pulled backwards, and walked away, ignoring the quiet whistle that Takuya let out as he walked away, naked. “You’re a good fuck, but you’re a shit person. Get out.”_

_Jongin pointed to the door, and after a few seconds of silence, Takuya walked out of the room, leaving Jongin alone._

Kibum ripped his hand away that time. “No more.” Jongin nodded, head bowed. “Does Kyungsoo know?” After a few seconds, Jongin shook his head. “Then don’t show it to me.” Kibum snapped the words at him, and then dropped backwards, to walk beside Seunghyun and Namjoon. Jongin looked down at the ground, and then sped up to walk beside Heechul and Ryeowook.


	22. unbound

Kyungsoo’s eyes blinked open slowly when he heard the doors to the prison creak open. He sucked in a shaky breath, fingers clenching around Siwon’s wrist when the elder growled quietly. After a moment of struggle, he pushed himself up into a seated position, leaning against the bars of the cell. After a moment, he could identify one of the newcomers as Takuya. “How are they, Wonho?”

Wonho laughed quietly, and Seyoung snickered. “Pissed off. Not that they can do anything about it, as hungry as they are. I have no doubt that Siwon and Kyungsoo would both tear my head off if they could. But unfortunately for them, they haven’t fed in…oh, it’s been ages, even for the babies.” Kyungsoo growled weakly, turned his head to glare at them, and that was when he spotted Hakyeon. He froze in place, gazed up at them, still furious. “Oh, he’s not happy to see you, is he?”

“I imagine not.” Hakyeon released Takuya, and came forward, knelt beside the bars. “Mm, they’d better hurry. I’m concerned about how much longer poor Kyungsoo – and Siwon and Han Geng, to some extent – are going to last.” Kyungsoo snarled, bared his fangs. “Oh, stop that. You’re not scary. At least Jongin was _scary_ when he did that. You just look silly, Kyungsoo.” He rose to his feet, and looked back at Wonho and Seyoung. “Casper and Yongseok are upstairs. You two can send them down, and then go hunting. Be _careful_ , and if you see the hunters, come back _immediately_. Do not hesitate, do not try to follow them, and do not, under any circumstances, attempt to engage them. Am I understood?” Seyong and Wonho both nodded quickly. “Go.” They left the room, and Takuya stepped forward then, wrapped an arm around Hakyeon’s waist. “Right, I’m sure you’ve figured out what’s going on here, so I’ll spare you the boredom of having to listen to all of the details. But I want you all to know, that you’re going to die, and your mates and family and friends are going to die, and there will be nothing, _nothing_ you can do about it.” Without another word, he spun on his heel, and started towards the door, but before he got there, it swung open, and Wonho stepped through, panic on his face. “What?”

“The-the hunters. They’re here. They’re almost to the main gate. And, ah, BamBam’s with them.”

Kyungsoo startled when Hakyeon started to laugh. The sound was horrible, terrifying, and it echoed through Kyungsoo’s entire body, all the way down into his core. When Hakyeon finally stopped, he looked at Wonho. “Let them come.” He turned to Takuya quickly. “Bring your kids. Have someone fetch Jackson and Jaehwan and Jongdae and the others. Wonho, go get the door for our guests.”

***

Seokjin raised a finger to his lips as he pushed open the hidden door, and most of the others filed through. Jinki, Kyuhyun, and Taemin stayed outside, and after the door shut behind them, it shimmered, and vanished. Seokjin and his hunters pressed against one wall, and everyone else pressed against the other. After a moment, Seokjin spoke quietly. “The others should be arriving at the front gates now. I have no doubt that Hakyeon will be receiving them in Takuya’s fucking throne room. They’d be stupid if they didn’t have some of the hunters, or the vampires, there, as incentive for everyone to behave.”

Leeteuk looked around for a moment, before he spoke. “We can’t all go together. There’s too many of us.” Seokjin nodded once. “And we’ve got…well, two vampires. So, I, um, I’ll take Sehun, and Baekhyun, and, ah, Hoseok.” Seokjin nodded again. “Which leaves you with Taehyung and Jimin, and Seungri. Is that…is that acceptable?”

“Sure. We’ll go to the dungeon, I imagine he’s got some of them downstairs. You go upstairs, try to find Jongdae, and if he’s not there, come back down, and go to the throne room. Be quiet, and go slowly, and if you run into any vampires that aren’t ours, kill them.” Leeteuk nodded, and then they all started towards the stairs. They paused, and Seokjin looked at Leeteuk for a moment. “Be careful. I cannot stress enough how dangerous they are. And I have no doubt that, after what happened to Sanghyuk, Hakyeon wants you dead.”

“I know.” Without another word, Leeteuk started to climb the stairs, the rest of his party following behind him. When they reached the top, they found a hallway that extended out to each side. “We’ll start on the left, and if there’s nothing there, we can circle back around.” Sehun nodded, and allowed Hoseok to step in front of him, to walk beside Leeteuk as they made their way down the hallway, pausing outside each door so Sehun could press his ear to the wood.

They had reached the last door before he heard anything, and the second he did, they acted. Leeteuk pushed the door open quickly, and the others flooded in, Sehun at their head. They found Jongdae, sitting on the floor, knees pulled up against his chest, crying quietly. Sehun was at his side in seconds, kneeling beside him. He took Jongdae’s hands, and then flinched when his fingers brushed over his wrists. As Leeteuk came closer, he could see the thin silver bracelets on Jongdae’s wrists, and one look from Sehun confirmed that they were magic. “Let me.” He pushed Sehun’s hands aside, and then carefully unclipped the bracelets, before letting them fall to the ground.

Behind him, he heard Hoseok speak quietly. “Bring those with us. We might need them, and if we don’t, I imagine Kibum would like to have a look at them.” Leeteuk nodded, and picked the bracelets up, pocketed them, before he returned to the others. “Is he okay?”

Sehun looked up at him quickly. “He needs to get out of here.”

“We don’t have time.”

Sehun nodded. “I know. And we can’t send anyone with him, we’re short on manpower here as it is. But he can’t fight, he’s too weak.” After a few seconds, he looked at Jongdae again. “Stay here. Wait for us, we’ll come back for you, you have my word. We will get you out of here alive, I swear it.”

“Is Yixing here?” Sehun winced at how broken he sounded, and shook his head. “Good. Good. I don’t…don’t want him to see me like this.”

After a moment, Sehun rose to a standing position, and they left the room, closing the door tightly behind them, before returning to the stairs. “To the throne room?”

“Yes.”

They started down the stairs, then froze as two others came around the corner. Sehun shot a look at Leeteuk, who drew his stake. The other hunters did the same, and that was when the two newcomers looked up.

“Youngjae.” Leeteuk deadpanned, as he made eye contact with the vampire, who merely smiled. “And Jaehwan.” They both nodded, didn’t stop moving. Eventually, Leeteuk found himself face to face with the grinning vampire. “Where’s Hakyeon?”

“Oh, good, you want to see him just as much as he wants to see you. Saves me the trouble of having to bring you unwillingly. Come along then, if you’re so eager.” Without another word, he spun on his heel, and made his way down the stairs, Jaehwan at his side. Leeteuk shot a look at Sehun, who shrugged, jerked his head at Hoseok. Leeteuk looked at him next, and the hunter mouthed one word at him. _Compulsion_. With that confirmation, Leeteuk started down the stairs, the rest of his party not far behind.

***

“Did it cross your mind that perhaps bringing BamBam here would only make things worse?” Takuya looked at Heechul for a long time, a nasty little glint in his eyes. “Oh, and you brought Jongin too, lovely. It’s like a family reunion.” He sneered the last part, before he spun on his heel, and walked away from Heechul. “How silly of you, to bring _both_ of them here. That’s what you needed to do, Heechul, make Hakyeon angrier. But you were always so good at that, weren’t you, at making him angry.” Heechul didn’t so much as flinch, didn’t move until Kibum touched his back gently, and stepped forward. “Oh? What’s this? It’s been a while.”

Kibum looked at Heechul for a moment, confused, but then he turned back to Takuya, jaw clenching in fury. He walked forward quickly, grabbed Takuya by the front of his shirt, and quite literally slammed him into the wall. Takuya made a quiet noise, surprised that Kibum had not only had the nerve, but also, that he had been able to do it at all. “I’m going to ask you once, and you’re going to fucking _answer_ me, honestly. If I think that you’re lying, if I get the sense that you’re not telling me the truth, I will not only kill you, but I will kill anyone else who gets in my way. So tell me, you absolute ass, where you’re keeping them, _all_ of them.”

Takuya growled. “I can’t see into your head. Why can’t I _see_ it, little hunter, what had you done?” Kibum growled right back at him, pulled him forward, and then slammed him back into the wall. “Ow, shit, fine, you want to know where your little friends are, I’ll tell you.” Takuya fell silent, breathing hard, before he spoke again, voice quiet. “The vamps are in the dungeon, downstairs. Some of the hunters are in the next room, the others are down the hall.” After a few seconds, Kibum released him. He turned his back, and walked away, but before he got far, Takuya pushed off of the wall and came after him. Without hesitating, Kibum spun on his heel, and punched Takuya right in the jaw. His head snapped to the side and he hissed quietly. “What the _fuck_ , how are you-” Kibum growled at him, and he shut his mouth, as Kibum looked back at the others.

“Heechul, take Minho and Namjoon and Luhan and Ryeowook, and go downstairs. Get the vampires. Seunghyun, take Zitao and BamBam and Donghae, and get the hunters down the hall. Joonmyun, Jongin, go get the hunters in the next room.”

Heechul growled. “We’re not leaving you _alone_ , you dumb-”

“Go.” Kibum snapped the word at him, and after a moment, Heechul nodded, left the room with the others not far behind him.

Kibum turned to look at Takuya, who was smiling now. “You’re really dumb, you know. Now you’re here all by yourself. I could kill you.” Kibum raised an eyebrow, and that was when he heard the door open behind him. “And now, you stupid fucking hunter, you’re outnumbered.” Kibum didn’t say a word, not even when Hakyeon came into his frame of view, two other vampires beside him.

Kibum snorted quietly, and smiled at Hakyeon, which seemed to surprise both him and Takuya. “You think I’m fucking stupid.” It wasn’t a question, but Takuya nodded once anyways. “I think the exact same thing about both you and Hakyeon, but that’s not entirely relevant, is it? You don’t have to be a genius to play your game.” Takuya raised an eyebrow. “I’m good at reading people, and you aren’t hard to read, Takuya. Hakyeon’s a little more difficult, but he’s a lot older than you, so it makes sense. But gods, even BamBam is harder to read than you are. Maybe it’s because you’re so confident in your abilities to kill everyone that gets in your way that you don’t bother to hide anything.”

Takuya’s upper lip curled backwards, and he bared his fangs, but Hakyeon put a hand on his arms. “That’s enough, the both of you. Where’s Leeteuk?” Kibum smiled, and then shrugged. Hakyeon sighed softly. “You’re lying.” Kibum shrugged again, and Hakyeon growled quietly. “I could kill you, right now, and then it would be merely a matter of minutes before I had killed all of your friends.”

“So why don’t you? You’re so eager, why don’t you just fucking do it?”

That seemed to bring Hakyeon up short, but before he could even try to answer, the door to the throne room opened, and Leeteuk came through, pushing his way past his two vampires guards – one of whom Kibum recognized as Jaehwan – to approach them. “You were looking for me, Hakyeon? I’m flattered.” Hakyeon bared his fangs, and Takuya grabbed his wrist. “You are a repulsive, horrible, _disgusting_ piece of shit. How fucking _dare_ you come after _my_ friends, _my_ family, _my_ people. How dare you punish those who have absolutely nothing to do with our conflict, for something that I did. You know what your problem is, Hakyeon? You’re such a fucking _drama queen_. You were going to _kill_ me, Sanghyuk wanted to make me cry, I had every right to defend myself from him. You’ve read the damn code, your fucking maker wrote it.” 

Before Hakyeon could respond, Jongin and Joonmyun opened the door, and came back into the room, Yifan and Chanyeol behind them. Upon seeing the situation in front of them, Jongin darted to Leeteuk’s side, snarling quietly. Hakyeon snarled right back at him, and Joonmyun winced, shied away, but Jongin simply stepped forward, fangs flashing in the light. After a moment of letting it go on, Takuya stepped in between them, put a hand on Jongin’s chest. “Oh, stop that, you child. You think you can fight him, you stupid baby, you _can’t_.”

Before Leeteuk could stop Jongin, he had lunged forward, and shoved Takuya, throwing him into a wall. Takuya snarled, climbed to his feet, but before he could retaliate, Jongin had leaped at him, pinned him to the floor, and buried his fangs in Takuya’s neck. Takuya shrieked, shoved at Jongin’s chest, but he was pinned quite effectively. Hakyeon growled, and then moved, grabbed Jongin by the back of his neck, and yanked him backwards. “That’s _enough_.” Jongin hissed, kicked out at Hakyeon. Hakyeon snarled, and threw Jongin across the room. He hit a wall, and slid to the floor with a quiet groan. Kibum frowned, and Leeteuk stepped forward. “I should kill all of you, right now, for that. You have attacked me, in my own fucking _home_.” 

“You kidnapped our _family_.” Leeteuk growled at him, before he took a breath, trying to calm himself. “Give them back.”

“Absolutely not. I have _plans_ for them.” Takuya had come forward, wiping blood off of his neck. “Darling, would you go get the vampires, please? It sounds like Jackson’s got all of them detained.” Leeteuk swore quietly under his breath, but Hakyeon ignored him. “I have no doubt that Seunghyun will be along in a moment.” Takuya nodded, and left the room without another word. Hakyeon smiled at Leeteuk and Kibum, then, before he looked at the others who had come in with Leeteuk. “Thank you, Jaehwan, Youngjae.” He came towards them, smiling rather fondly. “Hoseok. It’s been a long time.” Hoseok drew his stake, and Hakyeon sighed. “Silly hunter. There’s no big bad Seokjin to protect you now.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t fucking _need_ him.” Sehun put a hand on Hoseok’s shoulder, and he took a breath. “What are you planning, you stupid fuck?”

“You’ll see.” Hakyeon looked up when the door opened, and Seunghyun stepped through, then froze, gazing at them. “Oh, there you are. I was wondering when you’d show up.” After a moment, BamBam stepped out from behind Seunghyun, and Hakyeon smiled. “Ah, there’s the pretty baby. Come here, darling.” BamBam shook his head, stubborn. He caught sight of Jongin, then, and his eyes widened. “You don’t want to end up like him, do you?” BamBam whined softly, looked at Seunghyun. “No? Then come _here_.” At that last command, BamBam met Hakyeon’s gaze, and he went still, pupils dilating. Seunghyun grabbed him, but BamBam shook off his grip. Donghae’s fingers fisted in BamBam’s shirt, holding him in place as he struggled. “Go on, pretty baby, come here.” He practically cooed the words, and BamBam whined, yanking, now, to try and break free of Donghae’s grip.

Jaehwan stopped forward, but Hakyeon put a hand on his elbow, pulled him backwards. “Wait, darling.” Jaehwan sniffed delicately, and Hakyeon smiled, before he turned back to Leeteuk. “I will not negotiate with you. I will speak to your leader, before I give you a single fucking vampire of yours, is that clear?” After a moment, Leeteuk nodded. Kibum looked quickly at Seunghyun, who frowned, stepped in front of Donghae and BamBam. “He should be along momentarily.” Without another word, Hakyeon made his way towards the throne, and sat down, gazing at Leeteuk. He was smirking, and there was a glint in his eyes that Leeteuk didn’t like, he didn’t like it at all.

They all turned when Takuya came back into the room, Jackson not far behind him. At Jackson’s shoulder was Luhan, who looked thoroughly pissed off, and behind him, Heechul, with Minho beside him. “The rest have been detained. They’re not going anywhere, not alive, anyways.” Hakyeon smiled at Takuya, as he came to stand beside the thrown. Luhan stopped in front of it, leaving Minho and Heechul by the door.

“We’ve had this argument before, Hakyeon. You leave my family alone, and we leave yours. Why is that so hard for you to understand?”

“Your hunter killed my _mate_.”

“You kidnapped him, you were going to kill him if we didn’t intervene. He was protecting himself.” Hakyeon growled, but Luhan didn’t seem phased. “Let’s make a deal, Hakyeon, leader to leader.” Hakyeon clenched his jaw, and Luhan continued. “You give my hunters back, you give Heechul’s vampires back, and we don’t kill you and your entire family. That is the deal I will offer you.”

Seunghyun looked up quickly when he heard Kibum’s voice in his head. A quick glance around the room told him that the others were all hearing it as well, and that none of Hakyeon’s vampires could hear it.

_Zitao, Heechul, Minho, Hoseok, go downstairs. Get the others out of there. Kill everyone that gets in your way. The rest of you, stay up here. Donghae, Joonmyun, Baekhyun, get BamBam and Yifan and Chanyeol out of here._

Heechul snarled as Jaehwan stepped towards him, snarling out words in his head as he did. _That leaves four of you up here, I’m not stupid, I’m not letting that happen._

_Yes, you are. If you argue with me, I will paralyze you and teleport you out the back doors, so you can’t be in the way while we’re trying to solve this._ Heechul sighed quietly, but didn’t argue. They all looked up when Luhan stepped backwards, away from Hakyeon, came to a stop beside Leeteuk. “I take it a decision has been made.”

Hakyeon nodded once, but Luhan was the one to speak. “It would appear that Hakyeon is not going to be satisfied with peace.” Leeteuk sighed quietly. “If war is what he wants, then we will give him war.”

A split second of silence, and then Takuya attacked. He lunched for Leeteuk, and Heechul stepped forward, but Jackson grabbed him.

Kibum hadn’t been expecting any of them to follow the plan he had given, so it surprised him when they did. It took Heechul a moment to throw off Jackson’s grip, but then he vanished, pulling the hunters with him. With his prey lost, Jackson turned on Seunghyun, as Donghae dragged BamBam away. He lunged forward, fangs flashing in the light, and grabbed Seunghyun.

Hakyeon hadn’t moved, was simply watching the fight happen. Youngjae was grappling with Kibum, snarling whenever the hunter landed a blow on him. Jaehwan was circling Luhan, teeth bared, and after a few moments, he attacked. Luhan dodged out of the way, and Jaehwan hissed as his feet slid along the floor. He turned quickly, and leaped forward again. Luhan was quick, though, and it didn’t take much effort for him to get out of Jaehwan’s way.

The battle seemed to be going much better for Takuya. He had Leeteuk pinned to the floor, fangs in his neck, but after a few moments, Hakyeon realized that Leeteuk had a stake in his stomach. That was when Hakyeon got to his feet. That movement grabbed Leeteuk’s attention for long enough that Takuya could rip himself away, and throw Leeteuk across the room. He got to his feet, and flitted over to Leeteuk, snarling in his throat. “Come here, you little fucker.” He grabbed Leeteuk by the front of his shirt, and pushed him up against the wall. “It’s humans like you that ruined Heechul. He used to be so _ferocious_ , he used to be nearly as dangerous as me, and then people like you took that away from him.” Hakyeon smiled, as he stepped past Jongin’s body. Behind him, he heard a snap, as Jaehwan finally managed to grab Luhan, and throw him to the floor. Luhan grunted, but otherwise, no reaction was pulled out of his mouth. A brief scuffle ensued, in which Hakyeon heard several other bones break, and smelled Luhan’s blood. He smirked again, and that was when he heard Jaehwan scream. He spun on his heel, and found Luhan kneeling on Jaehwan’s chest, his stake buried in the vampire’s heart. After a moment, Jaehwan pulled Luhan forward, to whisper in his ear.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to do it, Luhan, I’m sorry.”

“I know. I know.” Without another word, Jaehwan fell still, and Luhan gasped, rolled off of him. Kibum looked at him quickly, ignoring the noise that left Youngjae’s mouth, before he turned back to the vampire, and punched him right in the nose. Youngjae shrieked, and fell backwards, Kibum dropping to the ground right after him, reaching for his stake. But before he could get there, Youngjae had hit him, thrown him backwards, and into a wall.

Hakyeon turned to Seunghyun and Jackson, who were grabbling on the floor. Jackson was growling, as Seunghyun spoke. “Look me in the eyes, Jackson, look me in the eyes and tell me that you weren’t the one who warned me about Hakyeon. Fucking tell me that you didn’t come to my bedroom and tell us that we needed to unite if we wanted to kill him.” Jackson hissed, but still couldn’t seem to find it in himself to look Seunghyun in the eyes. “ _Look at me, Jackson._ ”

After a few seconds, Jackson did, and that seemed to shatter the compulsion. He went still, leaned backwards, eyes wide. Seunghyun sat up slowly, put a gentle hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “We’ll save as many of them as we can. Go home.” Without another word, Jackson got to his feet, and then vanished. Seunghyun made a quiet noise, as he got to his feet, and came towards Hakyeon, but stopped when he heard Takuya snarl. He had his fingers around Leeteuk’s neck, but the hunter had his stake through his chest, much closer to his heart this time.

Hakyeon flinched when Seunghyun attacked him, but he backhanded Seunghyun, and the hunter flew across the room, into a wall. He slid to the ground, and then went still, not far from where Jongin was laying.

He saw Takuya start to fall forward out of the corner of his eye, and flitted forward to catch him without a second thought. He could see Leeteuk behind him, but he paid him no mind as Takuya spoke quickly. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen, I’m so sorry. I failed you, I’m sorry.” He had both hands fisted in Hakyeon’s shirt, and he was crying softly. “I failed.”

“Shh, darling. You did everything you could, you did so well.” Takuya shook his head, and Hakyeon slid a hand into his hair. “I’ll take care of your kids. I’ll kill Leeteuk.” He made eye contact with the hunter, then, and glared at him. “I’ll kill them all.” Takuya sobbed quietly. He could hear Leeteuk behind him, so he didn’t flinch when Leeteuk stabbed him through the chest with his stake. His grip on Takuya tightened, before it went completely slack. “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill all of you, for this.”

He lunged forward without a word, leaving Takuya’s body on the floor, colliding with Leeteuk. He caught the hunter’s wrist in his hand, and pushed, until he heard it break. Leeteuk growled, fingernails digging into Hakyeon’s arms, breaking skin. “Just give up, you stupid fuck. Just give the fuck up. You aren’t going to win this battle.”

Leeteuk hissed, kicked at Hakyeon, but before he could do anything, Hakyeon had his fangs in Leeteuk’s neck. Leeteuk fought, but Hakyeon had him pinned effectively. After a few moments, Leeteuk went still underneath him, and Hakyeon pulled back. Before he could stand up, he felt Jongin collide with his back. The kid shoved him to the ground, fingernails and fangs ripping through his skin, pulling blood out of his skin. After a few moments, Hakyeon managed to rip himself away, and flee the room, leaving Kibum and Jongin alone. Kibum came forward quickly, knelt by Jongin’s side. Jongin spoke quietly, voice shaking. “Youngjae’s dead. Is Leeteuk-”

“Either dead, or on his way to being a vampire. I’ll stay with him. You go downstairs. Help the others. I’ll stay with Luhan and Seunghyun and Leeteuk.” Jongin nodded once, and fled the room, leaving them alone. Kibum walked towards Luhan, and lifted him, careful not to jostle any broken bones. He moved both Luhan and Seunghyun so they could be beside Leeteuk, and then he sat down on the ground, watching the door.

***

When Heechul entered the dungeon, the first thing he saw was Han Geng’s body, lying limp on the ground. He snarled, then caught sight of the vampire standing over him. It was Wonho, one of Takuya’s kids, his fangs glinting in the light as he smiled at Heechul. “See something you don’t like, Heechul?” Heechul didn’t respond, even when Wonho stepped aside to reveal a number of other vampires. Heechul hissed when he spotted Siwon and Minseok, fangs bared as Seyoung and Casper entered the room. “Oh, my pretty darlings. Welcome to the party.” Casper smiled, before slinging an arm around Wonho’s shoulders, and pulling him closer. “Isn’t this lovely? Heechul brought Ryeowook and Seokjin and his little hunter friends to play with us.”

Heechul knew from personal experience that while Wonho sounded perfectly docile and friendly, his idea of _playing_ meant that blood would be drawn and tears would spill before he was content. He was the most demented of Takuya’s children, practically an exact copy of his maker, although Heechul wouldn’t say that he was the most dangerous. Most of Heechul’s own siblings had only met Takuya’s kids on one occasion, and that had been the last time.

Ryeowook put a gentle hand on Heechul’s back, and stepped forward, past Heechul, didn’t stop until he stood on the opposite side of Han Geng’s body. “Wonho.”

That one word had more of an effect on Wonho than any amount of compulsion Takuya had ever used. He stilled, eyes wide as he gazed at Ryeowook, fangs retreating. “Ryeowook.”

“Do you really want your friends to die? You want your _mate_ to die? How do you think that would feel?” Wonho stopped, held still for a moment. “Because you know we’ll kill them. You know me, and you know that I will not stop until I have killed all of you. You have crossed the wrong family, Wonho.” Wonho didn’t respond, his gaze moving away from Ryeowook. “You loved me once, remember?” After a moment, Wonho nodded, rather begrudgingly. “We loved each other. And now you have Sangmin, and you love him, right?” Wonho nodded again, dead silent. “I don’t want you to have to lose him. But I have to protect my family.”

Wonho nodded once. “I know that. I have to protect mine.”

“Then take them, and _leave_ , Wonho. Otherwise you’ll all die.”

Wonho shook his head. “You don’t understand. I can’t. I can’t do that. If I do, Hakyeon will kill me, and he’ll kill Sangmin. I won’t let that happen to my mate.” He took a deep breath, glanced over at Seyoung and Casper, wincing when Sangmin and Yongseok came in behind them. “I’m sorry that it has to be this way, Ryeowook.”

“I know.”

That seemed to be the signal for all hell to break loose.

Wonho lunged across the room, collided with Heechul, and brought him to the ground. Sangmin and Yongseok moved in perfect unison, flitted to the sides of the room, and then attacked. Yongseok’s attack was successful, and he collided with Hoseok. Sangmin, on the other hand, was met with Minho’s stake as Zitao ducked underneath him. He slipped underneath Sangmin, drew his stake, as Minho’s stake slid through Sangmin’s stomach, pulling a quiet shriek from the vampire. That got Wonho’s attention, and he looked over at them, before freezing in place. Taking advantage of his distraction, Heechul shoved him, and Wonho hit the bars of the cage, startling the vampires away from the edge of their prison.

Taehyung and Jimin moved quickly, Seokjin right behind them, made their way across the room towards the cage. Casper moved to intercept them, but before he could do anything to stop them, Namjoon had moved forward, and driven his stake through Casper’s chest. He missed his heart, but Casper still screamed. Namjoon pulled back, but before he could try to stab Casper again, the vampire backhanded him, and Namjoon fell to the ground. Casper followed after him quickly, fangs sliding free. He bit down on Namjoon’s neck, but before he could even start to feed, there was a hand in his hair, yanking him backwards.

“That’s _enough_.” They all froze, and turned, when Hakyeon spoke. Heechul growled when he saw Jongdae, standing at the back of the room, pinned in place by Mark’s grip, and a horrific snarl ripped through Seokjin’s chest when he saw that Hakyeon’s free arm was around Jongin’s waist. Jongin was leaning against him, eyes half-closed. “Yongseok, let him go.” Yongseok obeyed without a word, got to his feet. “Minho, Zitao.” They both stepped away from Sangmin. “Good. I’m glad you’ve decided to be agreeable.”

Seokjin stepped forward, pushed past Heechul. “Let them go.” Hakyeon laughed quietly, and Seokjin growled at him. “Hakyeon.”

“No. No, I don’t think I will. I think, Seokjin, that I like the way you act when I’ve got these two under my control.” Jongin whined softly, hands fisting in Hakyeon’s shirt. “Hush, sweetheart.” Seokjin bared his teeth, and Hakyeon smiled at him. “I’ll kill him, you know. If you don’t back off, I’ll kill your sweet boy.”

That seemed to get Kyungsoo’s attention. He looked up quickly, eyes wide, going wider when they found Jongin. He let out a weak growl, that came out as more of a hushed whine. Jongin turned his head, and spotted Kyungsoo, stiffened in Hakyeon’s grip. “Kyungsoo.” A quiet whimper left Kyungsoo’s lips, and Jongin looked at Hakyeon quickly.

“Go on. Go to him.”

Jongin did, without a split second of hesitation. He knelt beside the cage, hands sliding through the bars to take Kyungsoo’s. He murmured something to the newborn, but by that time, Seokjin was already speaking to Hakyeon. “We both know the compulsion won’t last, Hakyeon. We both know that-”

“There was only ever one vampire who could compel him.” Hakyeon finished the sentence smoothly, looked down at Casper. “Yes, I know. I know that perfectly well, thank you for the reminder.” Seokjin growled softly, but Hakyeon ignored it. “We both know that you’re the only one who can do it.”

“And we both know that I won’t.”

Hakyeon laughed. “Do we?” A split second later, he released Casper, and the vampire snarled, bit down on Namjoon’s neck again. “I don’t think we do.” Seokjin tried to school his face into neutrality, but there was a flicker in his eyes that gave him away. “So, here’s what you’re going to do for me, Seokjin, and trust me, you’re going to do it. Unless you want to lose your pretty hunter?” A few seconds later, then Seokjin shook his head. “I didn’t think so.” Hakyeon paused, looked over at Jongin. “Jongin, sweetheart, look at me.” Jongin did, and Hakyeon smiled. “Seokjin, you’re going to compel him, you hear me?”

“To do what?”

“Exactly what you’ve always had him do.”

That was when it seemed to click for Seokjin. His eyes went wide, and he whirled around, to look at Jongin, who was gazing at him, the last traces of Hakyeon’s compulsion holding him in place. “I…” Seokjin looked at Namjoon again, who was shaking his head as much as he could in Casper’s grip. “I’m sorry.”

Namjoon growled, shoved at Casper’s chest weakly. “Don’t. Seokjin, don’t you _dare_.”

Seokjin looked close to tears. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He looked at Jongin again, and then approached the vampire, knelt in front of him. “Look at me.” Jongin did, whining quietly. “Sweet boy, I want you to trust me.” Jongin nodded quickly. “I need you to feed.”

_But not on the hunters_.

The last part was whispered into Jongin’s head, and his mouth fell open, as if he wanted to speak, but couldn’t find the words. He looked at Kyungsoo, then at Seokjin, and finally, back at Hakyeon, who was grinning, triumphant. Hakyeon reached down, and pulled Casper back again, off of Namjoon, and that was when Jongin sprung forward. But rather than colliding with Namjoon, as Hakyeon had surely intended, it was Hakyeon that Jongin hit, and brought to the ground. Casper twisted, but he was still locked in Hakyeon’s grip, unable to move, and so it was beyond easy for Jimin to lunge forward, and drive his stake through Casper’s heart. The vampire snarled, struggled for a brief moment, before he fell limp. Taehyung pulled Jimin out of the way, seconds before Yongseok reached them. Minho was there to meet him, his stake finding Yongseok’s stomach. Zitao came up behind the vampire, and pushed his stake right through his chest. They both pulled away at the same time, and Yongseok dropped to the ground.

When they turned, they found that Hakyeon had hurled Jongin across the room, Namjoon’s stake buried partially in his stomach. Hakyeon had grabbed it, during their scuffle. Heechul growled, and leaped forward, but before he could reach Hakyeon, both Sangmin and Wonho had intercepted him, and knocked him to the ground, fangs flashing. Ryeowook grabbed Sangmin by the back of his neck, and hauled him backwards, bit down on his shoulder as he struggled.

Seungri and Hoseok moved towards Mark and Jongdae, only to find that the rest of Mark’s siblings had joined him. Jinyoung and Yugyeom stepped in front of Mark, lips pulled back to reveal gleaming white teeth, and even before either hunter could move, the vampires had attacked, brought Seungri to the ground, and shoved Hoseok across the room.

Seyoung was the one to open the door to the cage. In the back of his mind, Seokjin realized, from where he was kneeling beside Namjoon, that it was a rather brilliant move, on Hakyeon’s part. The vampires were starving, and hunters were bleeding. Not that they had to be at this point, because, being as hungry as they were, the vampires would attack anything with a pulse.

Kyungsoo was the only one who didn’t attack, and that was because he flitted to Jongin’s side, and then out of the room, taking the elder vampire with him.

Minseok was the only one with any reasonable semblance of control. He made eye contact with Heechul, blinked rapidly, and stayed where he was inside the cage, watched as the others flooded out. Siwon went straight towards Namjoon, but Seokjin hit him, knocked him away. That was when he turned on Hoseok.

It was just how Heechul imagined hell might be like. He had lost track of who was fighting who, because everyone was fighting everyone. The only people not involved were Hakyeon, Mark, and Jongdae, and Heechul wasn’t entirely sure that the last two counted, because they were, in a way, fighting each other. He batted Youngbae away with one hand, wincing when he heard the vampire hit the wall, but continued towards Hakyeon. “You want to hurt someone, Hakyeon, hurt me. I want this over with. If killing me is what ends this, then do it.”

That seemed to stop everyone. They all turned to look at him, as he came to a stop in front of Hakyeon, fangs bared. But before Hakyeon could respond, someone else spoke from the doorway, voice invariably furious. “You will _not_.” Hakyeon turned, to find Kibum standing in the doorway, eyes narrow and angry, literal sparks flying out of his fingertips. “This is my family you are threatening. It is my family that you have been threatening since day one of this conflict. I will not allow that to continue. You want to fight someone, Hakyeon, that’s fine. But you’re going to fight _me_.”

Hakyeon raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” Kibum growled at him, and though he didn’t have fangs, the face he made was plenty terrifying. “Interesting.” Hakyeon spun on his heel, and walked back towards the cage, before he stopped. “Interesting that you think that.” Kibum didn’t say a word, before Hakyeon moved again, speaking as he did so. “You think, Kibum, that you’re so very _powerful_ , because of your magic. But I think we both know that you have a weakness. And that weakness is in this very room.” He stopped, suddenly, and reached down to grab a vampire, and pull him to his feet. “Look at him, Youngbae.” Kibum went still, gazing at Youngbae, and Hakyeon. Youngbae made a quiet noise, leaned forward, but Hakyeon held him in place. “And you’re _so_ hungry, aren’t you?” Youngbae didn’t respond, but the answer was very obvious in his eyes. “Get him.” He released Youngbae, then, and the vampire stalked forward, fangs bared.

Kibum took a deep breath, made eye contact with Youngbae. “I won’t beg.” Youngbae hesitated, but kept going. “Because I know that if you love me the way you say you do, you won’t hurt me. You know what happened to me. So, if you love me, Youngbae, you’ll prove to me that you’re different.” He stopped speaking, then, as Youngbae got within arm’s reach, and didn’t stop. He grabbed Kibum by his upper arms, and pushed him backwards, into the wall. “Prove it, Youngbae.”

Youngbae cocked his head to the side in thought, as the others watched with baited breath. “You’re not scared.”

“If you kill me, I will know that you are no different from the others. I will know that I had nothing to live for here.” Something flashed through Youngbae’s eyes, and he bit back a whimper. “And if you don’t, then I will know that you do love me.” That seemed to do the trick. Youngbae turned, and looked at Hakyeon.

“I won’t. I won’t hurt him.”

“No?” Youngbae shook his head. “Then I will.” Hakyeon lunged forward, but Youngbae was quick to intercept him. Hakyeon snarled, and bit down on Youngbae’s throat. Kibum drew his stake, but before he could do anything, Jongdae had grabbed his wrist. Kibum turned, and saw that Mark was lying on the ground, a bleeding bite mark on his neck. Heechul made a quiet noise of discomfort, as he watched Youngbae bring Hakyeon to the ground, pinning him there by the neck with one hand. He extended his hand towards Kibum, and without hesitation, Kibum handed him the stake. Youngbae moved to drive it through Hakyeon’s chest, but before he could, Hakyeon grabbed his wrist, stopping the movement.

There was a split second of silence, and then they watched, as a blur that they would later identify as Han Geng moved, to push down on Youngbae’s body, and shove the stake all the way down, into Hakyeon’s chest. A scream ripped through his lips, and then Heechul gasped, stumbled backwards a step.

When Han Geng and Youngbae pulled backwards, they found everyone staring at them. Wonshik and Hongbin both seemed to be in shock, and each of Jackson’s kids seemed to mirror the sentiment. Seokjin was quick to round them up, and move them out of the way, as the remainder of Takuya’s children – Sangmin, Wonho, and Seyoung – formed a loose circle in the center of the room, facing outwards, fangs bared. They were still ready to fight, would die before they surrendered, that much was obvious.

“Sangmin, Wonho, if you two want to stay alive, together, then get out.” The pair looked at each other, then an Seyoung, who growled, and shook his head. “Go now, or I will kill you.”

“Don’t you dare.”

Wonho reached out to take Sangmin’s hand, then looked at Seyoung for a second. “We can’t win this fight, Seyoung. It’s over. Hakyeon’s dead. Takuya’s gone. If you want to live, you have to go.” Seyoung growled, but before he could speak, Wonho and Sangmin had both flitted out of the room, leaving him alone in the center. He faced Seokjin, glared at him.

“I will go. But if you think that this is over-”

“Oh, it never is, for you people, is it? Hakyeon was the same way. It’s never over, until all of you are dead.” Seokjin stepped forward, and that was Seyoung’s cue to leave.

***

They all heard Heechul’s snarl when he found Leeteuk’s body. Seokjin was completely unsure as to whether or not Leeteuk would wake up, and that was why he shepherded the others out of the room, only allowing Minseok to enter for the sole purpose of lifting Luhan from the ground, and carrying him out. Seokjin had put a gentle hand on Heechul’s shoulder, before he led Seunghyun out of the room.

“You will not die on me. You will not leave me here alone. You won’t, Leeteuk, do you hear me? You’re going to wake up. You’re going to be alright. You’re going to open your eyes.” He was holding Leeteuk’s body close to his own, murmuring in his ear. “Open your eyes. Open your eyes, you stupid hunter.” He was shaking, he realized that, but he wasn’t focused on himself right now. He was focused on Leeteuk. “Open your eyes, Leeteuk, please. Please don’t leave me here.” As he continued to speak, his pleas got more and more desperate, the longer he went without any signs of life. “I will tell you everything. I will _show_ you everything. I’ll answer every question. I’ll do anything for you, Leeteuk, darling, please, just wake up. Please don’t be dead, please tell me that you aren’t dead.” 

Still nothing. No movement, no sound. Heechul was crying, now, clinging to Leeteuk’s body. “You’re not dead. You aren’t, you’re stronger than this, stronger than him. You won’t die. You won’t. You aren’t dead, you stupid fucking hunter, you’re going to open your eyes and look at me, and you aren’t going to be dead.”

He hadn’t noticed Ryeowook enter the room, and he jumped when his brother put a hand on his shoulder. “Heechul.”

“ _No_.”

“We’d know, by now. We’d have felt something.”

“No, Ryeowook, he’s _not_ dead, he can’t be dead.”

“Heechul, please-”

“He can’t. He can’t do this to me. I won’t-”

“Heechul, there’s nothing you can do!” That seemed to shut Heechul up. “He’s dead, he’s gone, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Now please, get up. We have to go. You have a family who needs you.”


	23. life

The second Jiyong heard Seunghyun enter the house, he moved, flitted down the hallways, and into the front room, where Seunghyun was standing with Minho. They were speaking quietly to each other, but when Jiyong appeared, Minho stopped, and smiled. He stepped off to the side, and then left, leaving the pair alone. Jiyong bounded across the room, and threw himself into Seunghyun’s arms, face pressed into his neck. “You’re home. You’re alive. You’re okay.” He was shaking, and Seunghyun smiled, wrapped his arms around Jiyong’s waist. “I was so worried. I didn’t think that you’d…that you’d come back to me.”

“I promised that I would, didn’t I?”

“Well, yes, but I…Takuya’s scary, and dangerous.” Seunghyun hushed him quietly, pressed a kiss to his neck. “But you’re fine. You’re alright.” Jiyong pulled back. “Something happened. To Leeteuk.” Seunghyun didn’t answer immediately. “I saw Heechul when he came in. Is Leeteuk,” he paused. “Is he hurt? Are they still fighting?”

“Jiyong…”

“Oh gods.” Jiyong stepped backwards, tripped, but Seunghyun reached out to grab him before he hit the ground. “He was turned?”

“No.”

“Then he…” Jiyong whined quietly, buried his face into Seunghyun’s shoulder. “He’s dead?” Seunghyun nodded. “Is he the only one?”

“Of our people, yes. We almost lost Luhan, but he’s alright now. Minseok and Kibum made sure that he’s healing. The other hunters are alright. Namjoon and his hunters are all hurt, but they’re on the mend. They should be out of here in the next few days. But we all…we’re all going to be feeling the loss of Leeteuk for a long time. He was Luhan’s second-in-command, he was the one who kept the hunters together when Luhan couldn’t. And I can’t imagine what it’s doing to Heechul. It was Hakyeon who turned him. Or, well, tried to.”

“Oh _gods_.” Jiyong stepped away from Seunghyun, trembling. “He-”

“Can we not talk about this any longer?” After a few seconds, Jiyong nodded. “I don’t want to think about him. He was my best friend.” Jiyong slid his arms around Seunghyun’s waist, pulled him backwards, towards the bed. “I love you. I love you so much, and I don’t ever want to lose you.” Jiyong nodded, hands fisting in the back of Seunghyun’s shirt, and then tugged it over his head. “Don’t ever let me lose you.”

“I won’t. I won’t ever.” Jiyong pressed a kiss to Seunghyun’s mouth, as his hands fell to his belt. “As long as you don’t ever leave me.”

***

Heechul felt numb.

He had seen the looks that had been shot his way, had seen the look in Seokjin’s eyes, and he knew that they wanted to talk about it. And he would talk about it. Later. Much later. Potentially several hundred years later. But right now, he wanted to be left alone, and thank the gods they had allowed him that, for the time being. He had locked himself in his room, and sank to the ground, unable to make his way to the bed. Not that he would have wanted to be there, because even though Leeteuk had stopped visiting weeks ago, his scent still clung to the entire room.

Heechul put his head in his hands, trying to block the memories, and finding himself quite incapable of doing so.

“ _If you aren’t willing to tell me, then I’m going to walk away from you, right now._ ”

“ _I love you. I love you, so much more than you know._ ”

“ _I will love you until the end of time, you have my word. I will never leave you._ ”

“ _Don’t talk to me. Please._ ”

Heechul sighed quietly, rolled onto his back, head in his hands. “You promised. You gave me your word that you wouldn’t leave.”

_You promised him the truth._

Heechul let out a quiet noise. “I gave it to him.”

_You didn’t tell him everything. You didn’t tell him the things that you knew would hurt him. You kept that from him, and isn’t that just as bad as lying to him? He wanted you to tell him, and you didn’t. And now look where it’s gotten you._

“I was protecting him-”

“He’s your mate. He deserved to know.”

Hakyeon shot into a standing position, found Ryeowook standing beside the closed door. “Get out.”

“Heechul, he loved you. He loved you, and he wanted you to trust him enough to give him the truth.” Heechul shook his head once. “Stop lying to yourself, and admit that you were so caught up in your past, in your relationships with Hakyeon, and me, and Minseok, so caught up in trying to keep your secrets because Hakyeon would have used them to hurt you, that you forgot that keeping _secrets_ turns people away. It turned Leeteuk away. He wanted you, more than anything in the world. And you never gave him what he wanted.”

“I did.”

“No, you didn’t. You might have given him your body, and your love, but you never gave him your weakness. You never gave him the truth, the whole truth. That was what he wanted.” Heechul shook his head again. “It was the last thing he asked for.” That brought Heechul up short, and he didn’t seem to have any words in response. “And he died thinking that you didn’t trust him.”

Heechul lunged forward, shoved Ryeowook against the wall, and then pinned him there, snarling. “Don’t you dare-”

“Go ahead, Heechul, hurt me. It won’t bring him back, you know that.”

Heechul hit Ryeowook, hard, sent him flying across the room and into a wall. “I trusted him, more than I ever trusted anyone, more than I trusted you, or Minseok, or Joonmyun, or any of the others. I loved him.”

“Then why didn’t you tell him the truth?”

Heechul didn’t say a word. He held still, for a long moment, and then pointed to the door. “Get out. I don’t want you here.” After a few seconds, Ryeowook nodded, and slipped out of the room, leaving Heechul alone. Heechul sank to his knees, head in his hands.

***

“ _Those won’t heal, not completely. He’ll bear those scars for the rest of his eternity, however long that may be._ ”

Kibum’s quiet words echoed in Jongdae’s head as he fed, fangs buried in Yixing’s neck. Yixing was speaking quietly, arms around Jongdae’s waist. “We’ll need to hunt, soon. He hurt you so much, there’s not much I can do to fix it.” Jongdae hummed in affirmation, and then winced when Yixing’s fingers brushed the scars of his wrists. “I missed you. I was so…I was so scared, Jongdae, I thought he would kill you, and that I’d never see you again.” Yixing shuddered when Jongdae released him, and then moved, pressed Jongdae back against the pillows, and kissed him, soft and gentle. “I love you so much. I was terrified. Every time I closed my eyes, I would only see the things that I imagined he did.”

Jongdae’s head tipped backwards, as Yixing kissed at his neck. “I never want to lose you. You’re my most precious thing, and if I were to…if you were to be taken from me, I don’t know what I’d do.” Jongdae laughed quietly as Yixing spoke, but didn’t respond, didn’t say a word until Yixing pressed a kiss to his palm, and then to his wrist.

“Yixing…”

“Mm?”

“They’re so ugly.”

Yixing didn’t say a word, as he mouthed gently at the scars. When he pulled away enough to speak, Jongdae looked near to tears. “I don’t think they are. I think they’re a part of you. They’re something that you’ll need to learn to live with. You heard Kibum, they aren’t going to go away. You’ll have them forever.” Jongdae huffed quietly. “I love you. I don’t love you for the way you look – although that doesn’t hurt anything – I love you for who you are. These scars don’t change that. What Hakyeon did doesn’t change that. I love you now, just as much as I loved you before he took you.”

“I hate them.”

Yixing released the hand he had been holding, and reached for the other. “I know. I’m not asking you to learn to love them, I’m asking you to learn to live with them.” Jongdae nodded slowly, winced when Yixing kissed his wrist. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” Yixing raised an eyebrow. “Makes me think about what he did.”

Yixing paused. “Hm.” He chewed on his lower lip for a second, before he smiled up at Jongdae. “Do you want me to stop?” Jongdae held still for a moment, then shook his head. Yixing pressed his mouth back to Jongdae’s wrist, tongue moving over the scars gently. “You’re so pretty.” Jongdae made a quiet noise, then reached to tug Yixing up, so he could kiss him gently. “That’s my darling mate, you’re so beautiful.” Jongdae whined, then rolled, pinned Yixing down to the bed, and kissed him again. “Such a pretty vampire. Such a darling.”

“You’re always so _embarrassing_.”

Yixing smiled up at him, fangs flashing. “Because it’s true. You are, you’re so pretty, and I love you. I love you more than you know.”

***

“Minho?”

The hunter looked up quickly when he heard Taemin speak, voice quiet, and then got to his feet. “Taemin.” He came towards the vampire, but didn’t touch him, not until Taemin put his arms around his waist, and pulled Minho against him. “Shh, I’m right here, I’ve got you, you’re alright.” It took him longer than it should have to realize that Taemin was crying. “Hey, sweetheart, pretty boy, I’ve got you, you’re alright, I’m here, you’re okay.” Taemin was full on sobbing, now, his face buried in Minho’s chest.

“I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose you. I was trying to listen, but I couldn’t hear anything, Hakyeon had charmed his castle. I didn’t know…didn’t know whether or not you were alright, whether any of you were alive, and I…couldn’t help but think that you were dead. And th-that _terrified_ me, I’m sorry, I was just so scared.” Minho hushed him quietly, slid a hand into his hair.

“Sweetheart, calm down, you’re okay, I’ve got you, darling, breathe for me.” Taemin did, took a long shaky breath, before his fingers curled into Minho’s shirt, and he pulled. Minho heard his shirt rip, and then felt Taemin’s fingers on his skin. “Impatient.” Taemin growled softly at him, and ripped his shirt away entirely, placed a hand on the center of his chest, and shoved him backwards. Minho hit his bed, but before he could right himself, Taemin was on top of him, holding him down onto the mattress. Taemin pressed a kiss to his mouth, before he bit down on Minho’s lip, and tugged rather impatiently at his pants. “Oh, so _eager_.”

“Shut up.” Taemin whined out the words, as he ripped Minho’s pants off of his legs. “I was so scared. I never want to lose you.” Minho hummed softly, hands twisting out of Taemin’s grip, then coming down to grip his hips. “I love you, I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

Taemin stilled, looking down at Minho. “You-” He took a deep breath, fingers trembling on Minho’s chest. “You’ve never said that to me.” Minho nodded in agreement, touched a hand to Taemin’s jaw, before Taemin slid a hand down his chest. “I love you.”

“You’re adorable.” Minho chuckled as he leaned up to mouth at Taemin’s neck. “Do you need to feed?” Taemin nodded once. “Go on, sweetheart.”

***

“How did you know,” Kibum didn’t move when he heard Youngbae behind him, didn’t look away from the window in front of him. “that I wouldn’t hurt you? How did you know that I’d be able to throw off the compulsion? How could you _possibly_ have known that I would be strong enough to do that? And perhaps more importantly, _why_ would you willingly put yourself directly in his line of fire like that?” He came to a halt about 7 feet behind Kibum, breathing hard.

Kibum spun around on his heel at that last question, eyes flashing dangerously. For a brief moment, Youngbae felt the temperature in the room drop rapidly. He stepped backwards, and after a few seconds, the temperature rose back to normal, and the golden tint in Kibum’s eyes faded slowly, although it didn’t completely vanish. There was still a dangerous glint in his eyes as he gazed at Youngbae, although he looked significantly less hostile than he had 10 seconds prior. “I already answered that question. I told you, that if you had hurt me, I would have known that you were no different than the others. The fact that you didn’t proved that you are different.” He let out a quiet sigh, looked down at his hands, and that was when Youngbae noticed the bracelets in his hands. He could sense their power, even from here, and looked at Kibum silently. “Hakyeon used these to keep Jongdae restrained. They’re enchanted to burn vampires, and take away their strength.” Youngbae let out a quiet breath. “I don’t understand how he got them.”

“Well, he _is_ Hakyeon.”

“No. That means very little in the realm of magic. No one in their right mind would give a vampire, no matter how powerful, something like that. The gods would never allow a sorcerer to gift this to a vampire. And it was a gift, that much is clear. It has to be, Hakyeon’s not a sorcerer, he couldn’t have made this. A sorcerer has to activate something like this before it can be given to someone. I have no idea who would ever give something like this to him.” Kibum sighed quietly, ran a hand through his hair, and then flung the bracelets across the room. They hit a wall, but didn’t break. “Powerful magic. An old sorcerer, older than me. Older than Seokjin, probably. Dangerous, if he’s giving things like this to people like Hakyeon and Takuya.”

“Can you find him?”

Kibum nodded. “I can. It’ll take time, and energy, and resources, but I can do it.” He let out a quiet breath, shoulders visibly relaxing. “There’s something I need to tell you.” Youngbae didn’t say anything. “Four hundred years ago, when I was…younger, and not the man I am now, I made some mistakes. I did some things that I regret, even now.”

“Didn’t we all?”

“Don’t.” Kibum shot him a warning look, as he moved to return a few things to their proper shelves. “It was back when I lived with Heechul, before he cut himself off from Hakyeon. I met Takuya, and I…I did some things that I’m not proud of. I said some things to my brother that I have yet to apologize for. But I think the most horrific thing that I did…I will regret until the day I die.” Youngbae put a hand on his elbow, but Kibum shook him off. “He – Takuya – offered me a chance to stop _thinking_ all the time, and I didn’t hesitate to take it.”

“You slept with him?”

Kibum stilled, halfway through putting a book onto a shelf. “I did.” After a few beats of silence, he looked over his shoulder at Youngbae. “And I will regret it until I die. He used me. He used my weakness against me.”

Youngbae didn’t speak, even when Kibum looked away from him. He came forward, and slid his arms around Kibum’s waist, ignoring the way he jumped when he felt Youngbae’s touch, and pressed his face into the hunter’s hair. “You never answered my question.” Kibum hummed quietly. “Why would you put yourself in front of Hakyeon like that?”

“He needed to die, and I knew I could kill him if I had to.” Kibum moved, grabbed Youngbae’s wrists, and twisted out of his grip, though he didn’t let the vampire go. Youngbae bared his fangs as he felt Kibum push into his head, and then pushed him backwards into the bookshelf. Kibum seemed so shocked that he pulled away from Youngbae’s head immediately.

“Don’t.” Youngbae pushed his forehead against Kibum’s, growling quietly at him. “Don’t do that. I hate when you do that. Just _tell_ me. I want to hear it from you. I want you to talk to me.” Kibum didn’t say a word. “You trust me enough not to kill you, why don’t you trust me with this?”

“You _know_ why!” Kibum put a hand on Youngbae’s chest, and shoved, a burst of energy throwing the vampire across the room. “Don’t you understand, Youngbae? I’m letting you _see_.” After a few seconds, Youngbae righted himself, and stepped forward, tears in his eyes. He put out his hands, waited patiently, until Kibum came forward, slid his hands around Youngbae’s neck, and pulled him down into a gentle kiss.

Youngbae gasped into Kibum’s mouth, hands fisting in Kibum’s shirt. His grip tightened, and after a few seconds, his arms slid around Kibum’s waist, and he pushed his face into Kibum’s neck. “Show me. Show me everything.”

_He was the youngest of three brothers, the only one with a gift for magic. The eldest of them, Heechul, was the favorite in their village, and Jonghyun, the middle child, was cute enough to get anything he wanted out of any one. That left Kibum. Kibum was…different, his parents had known that from a very young age. But he loved his siblings, more than anything in the world, and would have done anything to protect him._

_On Heechul’s 18th birthday, Kibum and Heechul fought. It was a stupid fight, one that Kibum would regret for the rest of his live, but at the time, that didn’t matter. Heechul had taken a swing at him, and Kibum had lashed out with his magic. He had hurt Heechul, hurt him far worse than he had imagined himself capable of, and that had been enough to stop him from using his magic intentionally, every again._

_Kibum knew what the vampires were the second they showed up in the village. He knew what Heechul was doing, he knew what Heechul wanted, but his brother had asked him to stay quiet, and so he had. He hadn’t said a word, to anyone. But he had sensed it, the moment that Heechul had been turned, and it burned like acid in his stomach._

_Years later, when Heechul came back, long after their parents had vanished – presumably dead – he had found Kibum, though Jonghyun had blessedly been absent. Heechul had changed, even an idiot could have recognized that, and Kibum knew the look in his eyes even before Heechul pinned him down and forced his way into his mind, forced his fangs through Kibum’s skin. It had taken a great deal of power to get Heechul off of him, but as soon as he had, Kibum had done the last thing he ever would have expected to do – he hurt his brother again._

_He fled, after that, to the headquarters of the Hunters. He asked their leader, the Lady, to perform a ritual, to tie his life to Jonghyun’s life, and their lives, to Heechul’s. She agreed, reluctantly, and the ritual nearly killed Kibum._

_But he didn’t die, and that was what mattered. From there, he travelled, learned everything he could about his magic. He met people along the way, people who both loved him, and hurt him beyond his wildest imagination._

_It was a hundred years into his life when he first met Heechul’s maker. Heechul had tried to make his amends, and though Kibum had been grateful, he didn’t trust his brother. Couldn’t trust his brother. But on the night that he and Hakyeon met, Heechul’s maker had brought guests along with him._

_“You must be Kibum.” Kibum looked up when he heard Hakyeon speak, fought to keep his face passive as he gazed at the vampire. “We’ve heard so much about you.” As he crossed the room, two others stepped into the room. “Oh, how rude of me. This is my other child, Takuya, and his child, Seyoung. Darlings, this is Kibum.” Heechul shifted uncomfortably, then glared at the door as one more vampire stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “Ryeowook, how wonderful of you to join us.”_

_It was evident even then that Heechul didn’t like Hakyeon. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew that there was tension there. That tension was made worse, inevitably, when Takuya had pulled Kibum into his bed, and then, at the end of their little escapade, tried to get his fangs into Kibum’s flesh. Kibum had thrown him across the room, fire flashing from his fingertips and burning scars – permanent scars, as Kibum would later learn – into his skin._

“Enough.”

“No.” Kibum was shaking, as memories flitted back and forth between their minds. “No. There’s so much more that you need to know-”

“I said _enough_ , Kibum.” Youngbae pulled away, broke away from Kibum’s touch. “I don’t want to know if it hurts you.” Kibum shook his head quickly, held out his hands, insistent. “Kibum, I can’t. I won’t do that if it hurts you.” Kibum made a quiet, pained noise, and Youngbae closed his eyes. “Kibum, please. You need to sleep.”

“We both know I won’t.” He let out a shaky breath, and Youngbae came towards him, and pulled him into a hug.

“Let me help.” Kibum nodded without hesitation, and Youngbae moved quickly. When Kibum opened his eyes, they were standing in Youngbae’s bedroom. “He helped you stop thinking, right?”

“Youngbae-”

“Let _me_ help you.” Kibum went silent, holding onto Youngbae’s arms tightly. “Let me.” After a long silence, Kibum nodded once, and then Youngbae kissed him, hard. He moved fast, and within seconds, Kibum was pinned to the bed, Youngbae’s mouth on his neck. He didn’t bite, though, and moments later, he was kissing Kibum again, hands literally shredding clothes, just to get them out of the way. “Can I, Kibum? Can I?” Kibum shook his head quickly, as Youngbae slid down his body, mapping a trail with his mouth and hands as he went.

Kibum was gasping, his mind fuzzy, filled with nothing but his want and his need, and the briefest flickers of the same from Youngbae’s mind. And all he could feel was the vampire’s touch, and for the first time in more than two hundred years, Kibum let _go_.

When Youngbae kissed him again, he finally found words. “I’m never letting you go again. Never. No one is ever going to take you from me.” Youngbae laughed quietly, holding tight to Kibum, a silent return of that same promise.

“Can I bite you, Kibum? Can I taste you?”

Kibum went still, grip on Youngbae slackening as he gazed up at the vampire. “I…” He exhaled, slowly, and then met Youngbae’s gaze once more. “Yes.”

***

Zitao made it to Sehun’s bedroom - _their_ bedroom – before he collapsed. His shoulder hit the wall, and he would have slid to the ground, if not for his other hand. He managed to hold himself up, barely, as pain shot through his body, throbbing in his bloodstream with every beat of his heart. He gritted his teeth, as he slid to his knees, one hand coming to press against his temple, where the pain was originating from.

He hadn’t heard Sehun enter the house, and so he jumped when he felt cold hands on his body. As those hands started to warm, he curled backwards, into Sehun’s body, on the verge of tears.

He wasn’t entirely aware of what was happening; the next thing he knew, he was being lifted to his feet, and moved. Sehun lowered him onto the mattress, and pressed a kiss to his forehead, murmured something under his breath, and then Kibum was there, a dagger in one hand, and an amulet that Zitao could recognize, even in this state, in the other.

“What’s happening?”

“He…I’m sorry, call Yifan, tell him it’s an emergency. I need him here, now.” Youngbae, who had been hovering near the door, rushed to obey. “When Zitao’s parents were killed, he was cursed by the vampire’s lover, a sorcerer. He never told you?” Sehun shook his head quickly. “Stubborn. He’s more like Yifan than he’d like to think.” Kibum laughed, but the sound was humorless. “Hold his shoulders down.” Sehun obeyed silently, and moments later, Yifan entered the room.

“What happened?”

“He’s relapsing. Hold his legs. Youngbae, I need you to grab his other arm, please.” There was no hesitation, in any of them. Kibum grabbed Zitao’s free arm, and pinned it down by the wrist. “Come on, Zitao, breathe for me. Relax, it’s just us, we’re here to help you.” And Zitao tried, he really did, but then another wave of pain pulsed through him, and he arched backwards, a shattered scream breaking through his teeth. “You’re not going to let him win, are you?” Zitao cried out, as Kibum pressed the dagger into his skin, with the precision of a practiced surgeon. “When you wake up from this, we’ll find him. We’ll find the bastard who did this to you, Zitao, and we’ll kill him, but you have to make it through this first. You can’t let him win, not again, not after what he did to your parents.” Zitao choked on his own saliva, and then screamed again, fresh pain flashing through his body. “Come on, Zitao, you’re stronger than this. You’re stronger than him, I know you are. Fight him. Fight back, just like you found against Luhan, just like you fought against me when we first met.”

Zitao stilled, as the blade pulled away from his arm, and Kibum placed his hand over the wound, murmuring words in a language that no one else in the room understood. As Sehun watched, a dark, smoke-like substance lifted, quite literally out of Zitao’s blood, and onto Kibum’s hand. It didn’t stop for what felt like an eternity, and then, finally, the wound closed, and Kibum pulled away. And now, Sehun could see that Kibum’s hand was literally dripping with the substance. “He’s cursed. And the only way to lift it-”

“Is to kill the sorcerer that did it to him.” Yifan finished Kibum’s sentence, as he released Zitao, and straightened. “We’ve been looking for that man for 10 years. I think it’s time we realize that we can’t find him, and that there is another way.”

Sehun stiffened. “Turning him would fix this?”

Kibum interrupted before Yifan could say anything. “We don’t know that for sure. He may very well still have the curse after being turned.” Kibum took the amulet he had brought in his dirty hand, murmured a command under his breath, and watched silently as the substances was absorbed into the amulet. “And I imagine it would be harder to help him, if he were a cursed vampire. I wouldn’t be able to keep his skin open long enough to get the venom out.” He looked at Sehun. “I know you want to help him. And I want to help you help him, I just don’t know how to do that.”

***


	25. reality

As darkness set in, like curtains being pulled over a window, the humans retired to their homes, wary of what lived in the shadows. The hunters returned to their homes, crawled into the arms of their lovers, whispering sweet nothings to each other. There were a few, of course, who had no one to crawl back to, but they were the minority. From where they were perched, the pair on the roof of the tallest building watched, waited until the entire city had fallen still, silent. They watched as even the vampires withdrew from the night, and faded into shadows. They felt safe.

Heechul was alone, but no one was surprised by that. Many of them had seen Leeteuk’s body, after Hakyeon had gotten his teeth in it. They had seen his death. He wasn’t coming back. Heechul was mourning, locking himself in his room and not speaking, not even to his brothers, his family. Not to his children, or his maker’s maker, or his mate’s best friend; no one could break his silence, and as time passed, it seemed unlikely that anyone else would try.

Minho and Taemin were clinging to each other in the shadows, soft promises whispered between them, their limbs tangled together on silk sheets. They had faced great challenges, but in the end, they’d fallen right back together, like two perfect puzzle pieces.

Sehun was alone. Not alone in the physical sense – because Yifan was with him, of course he was, how could he not be? – but Zitao wasn’t there, and that was what mattered. The hunter had left, with Kibum and Youngbae, to find the sorcerer who had cursed him, to lift the curse from his body, and let him live the life that he had never had the chance to. To give him back his life, to give him back hope for his future with Sehun.

Luhan and Minseok were together, but they were busy. They had taken up residence in Luhan’s office, trying to make preparations for Leeteuk’s funeral – not that they could bury him, because they had to destroy his body, just in case – and for the ascension of the new Lady – well, Ladies. Lisa and Jennie had both made it through the Trials without much fault, even in Zitao’s absence. Their ascension would mean great changes, for all of the hunters, not just Luhan’s. It would mean changes for the vampires, too, something that Minseok wasn’t sure Heechul would be ready to deal with when it came around.

Seokjin had returned to his home, and taken his little posse with him, good riddance.

Kyungsoo and Jongin, after being fed well enough, were alive and well, together, in their bedroom. They hadn’t let each other go, not even when Han Geng and Siwon had stopped in to see them, not even when they had seen Jongdae and Yixing crying in the hallway. They weren’t ever going to let each other go, not in the near future, and not ever.

Jackson’s kids had returned to their home, safe and sound, without any trouble whatsoever.

Wonho and Sangmin had fled, and would never be heard from again.

Seyoung’s story was a little bit more interesting.

***

He gasped, sucking in air harshly as his eyes flew open, light streaming down across his face, fingers scrabbling for purchase on stone floors as he tried – and failed – to sit up. Eventually, he gave up, and went limp, eyes falling shut again. It was bright, so bright, too bright, it burned the insides of his eye lids, and he rolled onto his side, put his head in his hands to block it out.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” He groaned out a response when he recognized the voice, and opened his eyes, trying to find the source of the noise. “Over here.” He turned, found the speaker instantly, eyes narrowing in distaste. “Oh, enough. You’re alive, aren’t you?”

“Am I?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. Although, I can’t guarantee that your life will ever be the way it was before.” The figure crouched beside him, and put a hand on his shoulder. “But you are here, and you are…alive, for the most part.”

“Everything hurts.”

“Good. That’s normal. That means you’re feeling things.” With a firm grip on his arm, the figure pulled him up into a seated position, all but hauled him into his lap. “What hurts the worst?” He paused, and then pointed wordlessly at his throat. “Ah, you’re hungry.” The man – Seyoung, that was his name, he remembered now – fisted his fingers deep into his hair. “Get up, princess.” He was hauled up to his feet, panting. Seyoung dragged him out of the room, and down a hallway, through a door, and into a room. The room was filled with people – human people – who all turned when they entered. “Have fun, princess.” Without another word, Seyoung released him, and walked back out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

***

“They won’t be happy when they find out what you’ve done.” Seyoung laughed quietly, didn’t turn to look at the woman behind him. “Heechul will kill you. He’ll rip your undead heart out of your chest, and destroy you. The hunters will burn your empire to the ground. They won’t let you get away with it, I hope you know that.”

Seyoung turned to her for a second, still smiling, before facing the window again. “By the time they find out what I’ve done to him, it’ll be too late. He’ll be mine.” He looked the other way, at the open door, into a small bedroom. The subject of their conversation was curled up on the bed, eyes closed, but Seyoung knew he wasn’t sleeping. “He’ll forget them, forget Heechul. And that’s all that matters.”

“I think you forget that they’re mates.” Seyoung laughed, then, and turned to face her fully. “Their bond can’t be broken.”

Seyoung smirked. “I think that’s where you’re wrong, my dear. The soul-bond is hard to break, but not impossible. It takes time, but so did the Grand Canyon.” He faced the window again. “Besides, their bond guarantees that Heechul won’t attack me, not yet. Once he finds out about our little guest, he’ll be angry, but he won’t attack, because he knows what I’ll do. He knows who I am, he knows who trained me.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Absolutely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short epilogue...don't worry ;)


End file.
